Unhealthy Addictions
by BelieveTheWarIsOver
Summary: Jack is left alone when Jerry moves away, Angel dies and Bobby is sent to prison for life for a crime he didn't commit. Now it is up to Jack to save himself from insanity by trying to prove his eldest brother innocent and bring his family back together.
1. A Mission

**Disclaimer: I don't own Four Brothers, but the plot and original characters are mine.

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Prologue:**

My brother Bobby is in jail. There's no shock there. Ever since Ma died he made an effort to go straight, but it didn't change nothin'. He's still the same ol' Bobby. Trouble for him is like cigarettes for me-addicting. We try and stop, but neither of us has the willpower. Sometimes I wish we could, like right now.

Why right now? Because Bobby's in jail, serving two consecutive life sentences without visitation rights and I know for a fact that he didn't do it. He didn't kill no one. Those dumb ass cops took him away and put a fancy lawyer up against the cheap, fresh out of law school lawyer that was assigned to my brother. There was no competition, especially since this newbie didn't seem to care much for Bobby. Sometimes, when the case was open, I wondered if the kid thought Bobby was guilty and didn't do his best work because he didn't want him on the street. But I know the truth and I'm willing to work to get him out.

That's probably because I got nothing else. It's not that I don't care about Bobby and wouldn't work for him if I had something else, but since I ain't got nothing else, this one takes top priority.

Jerry moved away with his family. He took the girls and Camille with him when Camille was pregnant with their son only a few months back. I think Camille's had the baby by now, but it's hard to tell. I don't talk to them much because of the time difference. Yeah, time difference. They're not even in the States anymore, that's how much of a difference it is. They moved to England somewhere. To a place where Jerry was offered a job that paid him what he deserved. Didn't matter much to me. My brother was gone and I wasn't hearing very much from him. That's what mattered.

Not to mention that Angel is dead. Some bull crap story about an accident. It was probably a fight that went wrong between barrack-mates, knowing Angel. He was always the brawns, never the brains.

But Bobby was nearby, locked up in jail, far past the edge of the city and well into the countryside. But not the nice countryside that people go to, y'know, to get away from it all. No, Bobby was in the dirty, nasty countryside where no one goes. That might be because of the prison, but either way, everyone went to a different countryside to get away from it all.

Sometimes I wonder what 'it all' is. Work? Pain? Being tired? I deal with those things everyday in every sense of it all, but I don't go away. There is no going away. I learned that when I was younger, when my parents and then later my foster parents beat me, neglected me, raped me, tortured me and threw me into dark closets, knocking me out. I supposed the time I spent knocked out or passed out from pain were my little get aways. But those stopped when they took me to Ma's.

When I got here, I couldn't just get away. They wouldn't let me. They made me face it all everyday and just do my best. I made a habit of it and that's just how I've lived for the better portion of my life. But now I do it alone. It's so much harder alone. I miss Ma, Jerry, Angel and Bobby so much.

And I could move to England, but I can't. I know, it sounds retarded when I say that, but it's true. I had this talk with Jerry before he left. He understood what I was trying to say before I even said most of it. My life, me facing this every day, it's here, in this house. Ma's house. I might have gone away for a while to try and make my dreams to become a rock star come true, but I realized that's not what I should have been doing. To keep me stable and waking up every morning, I need to be here. Maybe that's why I was so fucked up when I was on the road with the boys. I've mellowed out since then, y'know, since I picked up my routine, but it's still there. My tattoos and my addiction still exist but that's about it.

Now, in addition to my original addiction, I have a new one. It's a new reason for me to wake up in the morning. It's to prove Bobby innocent. I know it's been a little while since he was thrown into the slammer for this one, but I know I can do it because his innocence is the truth.

Freeing Bobby. It's my new addiction.

Anyway, as I was saying, Jerry and Angel are gone and dead and Bobby's gone too. I can't keep this routine on my own. One day I'm going to stop moving and I'm just going to collapse. I don't know when and I don't want to find out. I'm sick of being without my brothers. I know they aren't my blood brothers, but what we have is even better than that. Blood brothers don't always care about each other the way me and my brothers do. When Angel died, that was a couple o' weeks before Bobby went away and a month or so before Jerry moved, the three of us just sat together in Angel's room. Back then Jerry didn't think Bobby was guilty. Back then we were three brothers instead of four.

They were almost three brothers instead of four when I nearly died during that shoot out in front of the house, but my brothers were spared the separation and I was spared the trip to wherever I'm going after I die. I'm not sure if it's heaven, hell, or some limbo, but I was spared it, which I was grateful for at the time. Had I known all this was going to happen, maybe I wouldn't have wanted to be spared it. Maybe I wouldn't have held on so tight to life. Maybe being with Ma, or wherever else I'm supposed to go would have been better.

Either way, here I am today alone, not wanting to be alone. Four turned to three, three turned to two, and then finally, as to be expected, two turned to one. I wonder if this is how Ma felt as we all left, one by one, leaving her alone. Sometimes I regret leaving, but only sometimes. It doesn't matter though. What does matter is that now I'm the one who's alone in a quiet, cold house that was once filled with clattering pans, laughter, yelling, slamming doors and warmth. Once in a while, a kid will come back to visit Ma. It doesn't happen often but that's when I feel most alone. Sometimes I can close my eyes and still feel the warmth and hear the noises, but when those kids come around, it all goes away for days, or sometimes even weeks at a time.

All of this is more incentive to fuel my addiction. An addiction that could go away for a short period of time with visitation rights, almost like a failed rehab attempt, but will never be terminated for good as long as Bobby is in jail.**

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A/N: And so it begins.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	2. Shadows

**Chapter 1:**

Jack leaned against the brick wall, making sure to hide himself in the shadows as best he could. He couldn't scare the kid. That wouldn't bode well for his cause. The grim look on Jack's face remained until he spotted his target walking down the street. Only then did a faint, sinister smile appear on his face. That was the only kind of smile Jack had let on to his face since Angel. Ever since he had started losing brothers, nothing was funny or satisfying anymore. Jerry and Bobby had started to worry when this affliction, as they called it, fell upon Jack, but Jack didn't care for their worries. He brushed them off and insisted he was fine, pushing them away day by day. Now, Jack only wished one of his brothers was breathing down his neck, worrying about him.

"Mr. Greeley," Jack said after reaching out his hand and pulling the kid into the alleyway. It seemed like one of those moves from the movies, but Jack had seen Bobby do it many times and he was proud to say he could do it just like his big brother.

"Mr. Mercer," the young lawyer said in return. Jack could hear the nervousness in his voice.

"There's something I wanna talk to you about," Jack said simply, eyeing the boy with malice. He hated the kid for not doing his best work. He hated him for hating Bobby and losing the case on purpose. Even more, Jack hated him for moving on to save numerous other people from jail. People that were guilty, unlike Bobby. Maybe Bobby had done something to this kid to upset him and by letting Bobby go to jail, he got his revenge. Or maybe someone paid him or threatened him to let Bobby go to jail. Either way, Jack was going to fight it or be killed trying.

"I don't think I have anything to say to you Mr. Mercer," Greeley said.

"Cut the crap, punk," Jack said, getting tired of being nice. Sometimes Jack felt like he was turning into Bobby in certain ways and this was definitely one of them. "You and I both know you didn't do your job when my brother was on trial. I should kill you for it, but my brother's innocent and I need you to tell me why you lost the case on purpose," Jack growled.

"I-I didn't!" Greeley said as his eyes shifted to the mouth of the alleyway.

"Don't even think about calling for help," Jack said as he caught wind of what the kid was trying to do. Jack moved the two of them further into the alleyway and hid them behind a dumpster. Then he pulled out a pocket knife and pressed it to Greeley's neck. "Maybe I was stupid coming into this but you're helping me learn. Now tell me what I want to know."

"I… your brother… I," Greeley said nervously.

"Someone paid you off," Jack said, his stormy eyes narrowing in anger.

"Y-yes," Greeley replied before biting his lower lip. "But if I tell, I'll die!" Greeley exclaimed.

"You probably will, but the question is when. I could kill you now, or you could have the chance of running away and not being killed by the guys who paid you off," Jack replied as he shifted his grip on the blade's handle. Back when Bobby, Jerry and Angel were around, Jack was the one who stood back and hide his face while his brothers did the beating and the killing. But after all the fresh trauma in his life, Jack lost his fear, lost the sheltered innocence his brothers had created for him and lost his conscious. He would do this without losing a wink of sleep if he had to.

"They'll find me," Greeley whined. He wasn't even questioning Jack's ability to kill him. He could see the anger in his attacker's eyes which caused Jack's grim smile to deepen.

"I'll kill you," Jack threatened. "Your choice."

"Alright, alright, some guy, said he worked for Sam Nickels. He said Sam would be grateful if I would just get Bobby Mercer convicted and if I didn't, I should watch my back. He handed me an envelope, winked at me and ran off," Greeley said as beads of sweat started to form on his forehead. His eyes were trying to looking down at the knife that was pressed up against his neck.

"What did the guy look like?" Jack pushed as his smiled turned to a frown. Who was Sam Nickels?

"Big guy," Greeley said. "He didn't look like a thug or anything. Blonde hair, blue eyes. He had a suit on. He was cleaned up very nicely. Whoever Nickels is, he takes good care of his men. He had a piercing thought. His right earlobe. There was a charm hanging off of it. I'm not sure what it was," Greeley explained.

"Alright then, you better start running," Jack said as he let the dirty lawyer go. The last thing Jack wanted was to be talking to that filth any longer. Not to mention that Greeley had given him a lot to think about and he needed a drink to help him mull it over.

Jack sat hunched over at the end of the bar. Hiding in the shadows seemed to be a new favorite of Jack's. While waiting for his drink, Jack tried to piece his new information together. Some guy named Sam Nickels. Sam Nickels. Jack even said it out loud to try and figure out who that was.

"Nickels?" the bartender asked curiously. Johnny's bar had burnt to the ground not long after Bobby went to jail. Johnny moved somewhere else, Jack never bothered to find out, but this bar went up in the old one's place.

"Yeah," Jack replied. He didn't know the owner of this bar, nor the bartenders. They knew his name though. How could they not? He was the last of the Mercers. The name still carried weight even if the brothers weren't all there.

"I know the name," the bartender said, shrugging her slightly broad shoulders. "Rumors fly," the girl said, shrugging again as she handed Jack his drink.

"What rumors?" Jack asked, his attention turning to the girl in front of him. She wasn't your regular female bartender from Detroit. She was wearing jeans, a high necked, long sleeved shirt and she wasn't slight in any sense of the word, not that she was fat. She just wasn't one or the other. But her face, the kindness in her face, that was something to look at. Her face was round, slightly from the extra weight, but mostly not. She had auburn eyes, brown hair that had red tints in it and a carefree smile that told Jack that perhaps she wasn't from Detroit.

"Just that Nickel's isn't your regular mob boss. More than a thug, you know? I don't know much about all this. I'm new here, from Florida. Only came because my cousin needed help getting his business started and I always wanted to know what seasons were like and what it was like to not have to rebuild my house with my mom after every hurricane season," the girl explained.

"Right, well, I'm looking for the guy. Or at least trying to figure out what I can about him. If you could help…" Jack trailed off with a small bit of hope in his voice. He tried to keep it out, but he couldn't seem to. This girl knew something that he wanted to know. Or at least she could potentially know something that he wanted to know.

"I could," the girl said with a small, shy smile. "I'm Rachel Allen, but they mostly just call me Rach or Kid."

"Jack Mercer," Jack said with a nod. Jack could only hope that she didn't know his name even though all the bartenders did. He didn't have such a fantastic reputation and the guys in the bar wouldn't want this sweet girl hanging around him. But he needed her. It might be a terrible thing that he was using her, but he needed his brother. Then again, he didn't care what she thought about him, just so long as she would help him.

"Nice to meet you Jack Mercer," Rachel said, nodding her head with a sweet smile. Sweet, this girl was too sweet for Detroit. She should get out and go back to sunny Florida before she gets killed or something like that.

"Same," Jack said as he dropped his head and started to drink. Rachel nodded her head again, realizing that Jack wasn't the kind of drinker who liked to talk. She walked off, back down the length of the bar to rejoin the ruckus of the bar. The ruckus Jack was apart of with his brothers. His brothers. This wasn't the same bar but in his mind's eye he could see them with him, sitting at a booth, getting piss drunk. Bobby and Angel teasing him about being gay and Jerry trying to get all of them to stop chugging down drink after drink. He would give anything to have his brothers calling him gay again.

But he couldn't keep reminiscing. He had to figure out who Sam Nickels was.

"Rachel," Jack called down the bar as he finished off his beer.

"Hello Mr. Mercer, how may I help you?" Rachel asked.

"'Nother beer. Maybe a tab for the night. And a promise you'll call me a cab when I'm drunk and I insist on walking home in the dead of night," Jack requested.

"Now, Mr. Mercer, I won't discourage you from giving over some well needed money to my cousin's establishment, but do you think getting plastered on a Tuesday night is the answer. Besides, it seems like you're on some sort of mission here," Rachel said as she bent over and propped herself against the bar with her elbows. If her top had been cut out, Jack would be getting a nice view of her chest right now. Not that there was much of it. She was one of those slightly heavy girls whose breasts didn't grow along with her stomach, butt and hips.

"Sometimes a guy needs to get piss drunk," Jack said with a shrug.

"I never had much respect for a guy who gets drunk like that on a week night or any other night for that matter. The guys here, they're either disgusting or old. You, you have something going for you. This isn't a place you should be hanging out in," Rachel said with a frown on her face. It was almost as if she thought that Jack would change his mind because he was interested in her. Then again, he was. Maybe he should keep her respect for the time being if he wanted her to help him properly. But wouldn't that lead her on? Did he really want to do that to someone?

"Then I think you should get me a soda," Jack said with a very fake and forced smile.

"Alright then," Rachel said, her 100 mega watt smile spreading across her face as she walked off to go get the soda Jack asked for. Forget that the girl hadn't even asked him what kind of soda. He probably wasn't going to drink most of it anyways. Perhaps he would wait until the ice melted and then pull out the money that was weighing down his pocket, slap it down on the table and leave before he could pull himself deeper into a relationship he shouldn't have instigated. He should have just taken the beer, but he needed the information this naïve out-of-towner could provide him. None of the other guys in the bar would tell him anything from fear of pending death, but this girl, she would tell him everything he needed to know because she didn't know any better. Hopefully when Nickels found out she was leaking information, he would go easy on the poor girl.

Jack sat in the bar until closing time, contrary to what his plans were. Not another drop of alcohol touched his lips, much to his displeasure. Rachel had him drinking water and soda all night along with tossing peanuts up into the air and catching them. The pair even had a game of darts. Rachel had spent all her down time with the youngest Mercer and Jack couldn't pretend her didn't enjoy her company. Perhaps at first he was going to use her to find out more about Nickels, but if there was a fuck involved, who was he to protest?

"Tonight was great," Rachel said as she wiped down the bar and everyone except or Rachel, Jack and another guy who worked at the bar was filing out.

"Yeah, it was," Jack grunted. He was tired, sober and he wasn't any closer to getting Bobby out of jail than he was when he left Greeley earlier that afternoon.

"You should come by more often. I get the night shift during the weekdays and Sunday night. On Friday and Saturday I get the morning shift. Jess doesn't want me around when the real rowdy drunks come by on the weekends and Sunday afternoon for the games. He says it's too dangerous, but I got the weeknights down, so maybe he'll let me into the big leagues soon. I could use the tips," Rachel explained before ducking down to grab her purse from under the counter.

"I agree with your cousin," Jack said honestly. "You probably shouldn't even be in Detroit."

"I can manage. I've walked home on my own every night this month after the night shift," Jack said proudly.

"Not tonight. When I ducked out back for a smoke 'bout twenty minutes back when you had that last minute rush I saw some creeps there. You ain't walking home with them around. They'll be sure to get you," Jack explained.

"Get me? What, do I have out-of-towner written all over me?" Rachel asked with an amused look on her face.

"Yeah, in neon lights. And if that's not enough, you got innocent written underneath the out-of-towner bit," Jack teased in good humor. That's probably the friendliest he'd been since his family fell apart.

"Alright then, Mercer, lead me home, I live on the corner of Birch and Bleaker," Rachel said simply as she shrugged on her coat. It was getting cold just as it always did in November. Snow would come soon. As would ice and hockey. All this caused Jack's heart to ache even more. The Mercers were known at the ice rink, but not this year. Not when there was only one of them around. Maybe with two or three they could scrimmage with another group or pair up with someone else, but it was only one and one was good for nothing.

"Come," Rachel whined as she appeared on Jack's side of the bar and grabbed his arm to try and get him to move. "I'm tired," Rachel explained when Jack gave her an odd look. I wasn't every day a grown woman of 24, as Jack had found out that night, acted like that.

"And don't pretend like I shouldn't whine because it makes me sound like a child. You're my age exactly and I remember you getting upset over a game of darts that I won fair and square," Rachel said, as if she was reading his mind. Jack's jaw dropped in shock. "What? I'm good at reading people," Rachel said with a shrug as she skipped ahead of Jack. "Being from Florida doesn't make me a hick or a redneck!" Rachel teased. Jack just shook his head and followed the retreating form the girl who had caught his attention for her knowledge and perhaps even her kindness, but Jack wasn't about to admit it.

"This is me," Rachel said as the walked up to an average sized house with an average sized walk way and an average sized porch that had your average porch swing hanging off the awning of the porch.

"Pretty average," Jack commented lightly.

"It suits me," Rachel said with a shrug. "But I'm not average," Rachel warned, a tone in her voice was almost tempting Jack to kiss her, drag her into her house and screw her till the sun came up.

"You can prove that to me another night," Jack replied. He didn't want to sleep with her tonight. He couldn't. That would be the end. Jack was very bad with keeping a relationship going after he ran out on a girl the next morning. He needed to keep this going so he could get information from her.

"I'd like that," Rachel said, her face glowing with pleasure. Rachel quickly stood up on her tip-toes and kissed Jack on the cheek before running to her house and unlocking the door with a key she must have pulled out of her coat pocket when Jack wasn't looking.

Jack shook his head as he turned to walk away. Jack pressed a hand to his cheek. That was the most affection he had received from anyone since his family fell apart. Sure, he had messed around with a few girls, but none of that meant anything. Rachel's kiss was so meaningful and pure that Jack was beginning to become confused.

Jack shook his head and took his hand of his cheek. He couldn't think about that until Bobby was out of jail.


	3. Mondays and Thurdays

**Chapter 2:**

Jack woke up the next morning. He was a bit happy his head wasn't pounding from drinking, but the minute he remembered why his head wasn't pounding, his happiness disappeared.

"Stupid," Jack murmured to himself. He didn't know if he was scolding himself for not drinking or for getting involved with this girl.

Jack yawned and crawled out of bed. Fifteen minutes later, Jack was showered, dressed and gulping down a bowl of cereal while standing over the sink. After finishing his breakfast, Jack washed the bowl and went into the living room. Instead of turning on the television like he normally would Jack picked up a black, tattered old notebook. There were doodles all over the place, song lyrics scribbled in haste, a couple of bars that signified the many started but not finished songs he had tried to write and the most important of them all, notes. Notes about life, notes about the brothers, notes about girls, notes about concerts, notes about different bands and influences, but now it also held notes about how Jack was going to prove Bobby innocent.

Jack sat, bent over his notebook all morning, writing down what he had found, making grids and charts to try and figure out where to go next. Jack had spent enough time in prison to know how cops did these things. Once Jack was finished with his work, he threw his notebook on the coffee table, looked at his watch and realized just how hungry he was for lunch. Jack walked into the foyer, grabbed his wallet and keys from the front table, shrugged on his coat and walked out of the house.

Jack walked briskly down the street, his collar popped, more to hide his face than keep his neck warm. His hair did that job well enough. Not that his hair had grown much longer, it was always shaggy and long to begin with. On his way to his destination, Jack stepped into the local bodega and bought himself some Nicorette gum.

"This shit's just as addicting as cigarettes," Jack mumbled as he left the bodega while popping a piece of gum into his mouth before turning down the street.

Jack's pace sped up as he made his way back to the bar. He needed to start looking for this blond haired man. Jack ducked into the bar and made his way back to his corner so he could keep an eye out. Jack's attention was only disrupted when someone waved a hand in front of his eyes.

"Hey there," a girl said. "You gonna just sit there or are you going to order something?" The girl asked casually.

"Uh, just some water," Jack said with a nod as he glanced at the girl.

"Sure thing," the girl said, mimicking Jack's nod as she went back down the length of the bar. When she got back with Jack's water, Jack was compelled to speak to her.

"Why is it that all the bartenders in this joint are young females?" Jack asked curiously after glanced around the bar one more time.

"Just me and my sister," the girl said with a shrug.

"You're Rachel's sister?" Jack asked as he glanced at the door.

"Officially, yes," the girl said as she leaned up against the wall. Jack could see some similarities about the two girls. Their build was similar but this girl had light brown, wavy hair while her eyes were forest green. She had the same face, but her emotions were guarded, as if she had seen things her sister hadn't.

"What does that mean?" Jack asked with an odd look on his face.

"We're sisters but our parents divorced when we were five. I went with my dad to Boston and my sister stayed with my mom in Boca Raton," the girl commented.

"And your name is?" Jack asked.

"Oh, my bad, my name is Rose Gilman," the girl said with a small smile.

"So Rose, why did you leave Boston to come here?" Jack asked.

"My dad died and so did my step-brother: car accident. I needed a change of scene. I got here, found out Rachel was here and then started packing. You probably won't see me around after next week," Rose said as she wiped down the bar.

"You don't like Rachel or something?" Jack asked.

"Never have," Rose said. "Sibling rivalry. Besides, it never really mattered, she lived in Florida and I didn't."

"But she's still your sister," Jack protested.

"Sometimes that means less than you think it does," Rose said with an unreadable look on her face.

"Not to me. Siblings are siblings," Jack replied defensively as he thought of his three brothers.

"You clearly don't have any then," Rose explained.

"I do, but not the blood type," Jack said, trying to keep his calm about the conversation. More and more memories were popping into his head, causing it to ache. He missed his brothers so much and he hated the fact that this girl was so... so ungrateful.

"Sounds like you miss them," Rose replied softly.

"How'd you know that?" Jack asked, his anger ebbing away. This girl wasn't trying to hurt him. Not everyone has to love their siblings. Jack tried to keep that in mind as the conversation continued.

"I'm good at reading people," Rose said with a shrug. "Now, I believe you know my name but I have no idea what yours is," Rose said with a curious look in her eyes.

"Jack Mercer," Jack said, glad the conversation was starting to go in a different direction.

"Shit, Mercer?" Rose asked with wide eyes. "Your brother isn't Bobby Mercer, is he?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, that'd be my older brother," Jack said, wincing inwardly. Here they were again. "How do you know who he is?"

"He's only my personal hero," Rose gushed. "He's the best hockey player I've ever seen! My brother, some friends and I went to one of his games. Normally we're the baseball type of kids, but I swear, that game had us on our feet! We met him after the game. It was incredible!" Rose exclaimed.

"I wouldn't take you as a rough and tumble type of girl," Jack said with an amused look on his face as he thought about his brother's love of hockey. This place they were in right now, it wasn't as bad as it was before and it wasn't hurting him as much. Maybe talking about his brothers in a good way could help his anger and pain. But who could he talk to about the good times with his brothers? Everyone thinks the Mercer boys are criminals and always will be.

"I'm not really, but I know how to get myself in and out of trouble," Rose explained. "I assume you do too if you're related to Bobby Mercer, even if it's not by blood."

"Trouble is my middle name," Jack said frankly as he shook his head, his hair falling in his face.

"Somehow I don't doubt that assertion," Rose said. "You gonna drink that?" Rose asked. Jack gave her an odd look. "We haven't gotten in all our glasses and if you're not using it, it goes to someone else," Rose explained.

"I think I'll keep this one," Jack said with a small smile.

"Now you're being difficult," Rose said with a mock disappointed look on her face. "I better get back down that way," Rose said as she heard a banging on the bar top.

"You better," Jack said with a nod as he took a drink of the water she had brought him. Rose returned the nod as she hurried down the length of the bar before the skinheads at the end of the bar could get too upset.

Jack thought about this other girl. She seemed a lot tougher than her sister, which was understandable since she grew up in Boston and her entire family was dead. Not to mention that she had an affinity for Bobby, which might help him in the long run and not even for a reason that would seem negative. But why did she hate her sister? What happened to Rachel and Rose to make Rose hate Rachel so much?

"Is that all, Mr. Mercer?" Rose asked as she made her way back down the bar while wiping her hands in the bar rag.

"Just the answer to one question," Jack replied.

"Yeh?" Rose asked as she threw the rag on the counter.

"Have you seen a guy, well dressed, long blond hair in a ponytail?" Jack questioned.

"With a dangling earring that has a nickel as a charm at the end?" Rose asked. "Sure, he comes in maybe twice a week, about lunch time. Usually on Mondays and Thursdays. Someone usually sits down and meets with him, but not always," Rose replied. "He's never been outright nasty or anything, but he's always seemed like the kind of guy I would want to keep away from."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jack said. It was Wednesday. Tomorrow he would find the guy and by next Monday he would have Nickels. He would get the evidence that he needed and in less than a month Bobby would be a free. Jack smiled at his progress. Everything was moving smoothly and quickly.


	4. Ode To A Clumsy Girl

**AN: Don't hate me for not updating in almost a year. I got totally caught up in a bunch of things and, to be honest, I'm not pleased with myself for doing so. But I'm refocusing and this is one of those things I'm going to settle on for a little bit. **

**Chapter 3: **

The next day, Jack sat impatiently at the bar and waited for the blond man with the dangling nickel earring. Rose, or Rosie, as the old drunk farts called her, was on duty. She had brought Jack a tall cold beer when he walked in. As she pushed the sweating glass in front of him on top of a coaster, she said something about him looking like he needed it. Jack looked at her oddly as she turned and walked away. Whatever values Rachel had learned from her mother were clearly lost on Rose.

"Hey there, sorry 'bout that, the oldies down there needed attention," Rose said as she came over quite a bit later, this time with two shot glasses in hand. "I allow myself one drink every other hour, no roll over, so I figured I might as well have this one with you," Rose said as she set the small shot glass down next to the empty glass that was left over from the beer she had brought earlier.

"What is this?" Jack asked as he lifted up the glass and stuck it under his nose to get a whiff of it. The drink had such a terrible stench that Jack was lucky the drink didn't spill as he thrust it down on the counter.

"I took a mixology course my summer after high school with a friend of mine. It's a special little drink I learned how to make if you want something really heavy," Rose explained with an amused smile on her face. "I don't have it when I'm alone and I never have it unless it's necessary."

"I dunno," Jack said as he looked skeptically at the shot glass in front of him.

"Oh don't be chicken," Rose said with an exasperated look on her face. "Drink it. What's the worst you that can happen?"

"I won't be sober when that blond guy comes in," Jack replied flatly. He couldn't be deterred from his goal. Bobby was the most important thing and being drunk when he was supposed to be beating the shit out of some guy wouldn't do.

"He doesn't come for a few hours yet. You'll be sober again by the time he gets here. Besides, you only had one beer and that was like half an hour ago so it's not like you'll end out piss drunk from just this one shot. Maybe two of them would do you in, but one definitely won't," Rose pressed.

"What is with you and drinking? Your sister is the biggest alcohol prude I've ever met," Jack said, finally admitting the one thing that had been on his mind other than Sam Nickel's man since she had set the beer in front of him.

"I know she is," Rose said, her smile turning into a frown. "I don't love alcohol either. I only drink socially and even then, not that much. I think getting pissed is a waste of time. But when I see a guy who can use a drink, I give him a drink. If you feel like shit, drink a little and dull it. You don't need to get plastered in order to dull the pain until the morning when you're ready to deal with it," Rose said frankly.

"Amen to that," Jack said as he picked up the shot glass again. Finally someone was talking sense.

"Okay, let's go," Rose said with excitement in her eyes. Jack would have laughed at her over-eagerness to drink if laughing was something he did anymore, but it wasn't. "On three," Rose warned, "One, two… three!" And with that, Jack and Rose both downed their shot glasses. Once they were empty, the pair slapped the glasses back on the table and took deep breaths to try and clear the harsh burning feeling that was making it's way down their throats and into their stomach.

"Holy shit," Jack swore as he scrunched up his face to stop the tears that were forming from the stinging feeling behind his eyes.

"You know it," Rose replied as she shook off the sharp feeling the liquor produced faster than Jack simply because she was used to the drink and he wasn't.

"Where did you say you learned how to make this?" Jack asked curiously once he had recovered.

"My friend I took that course with was fooling around, mixed a few different things and got this. It's safe, but potent. You only need a few shots to end up passed out, hung-over and feeling pretty sick," Rose explained. "But I can't tell you what's in it, so don't even ask," Rose warned. It was clear to Jack that she couldn't spill the secret ingredients, but there was still a playful look on her face.

"I guess I'll have to keep coming back for it," Jack replied honestly. And he would. He would probably start coming to the bar more during the day if it meant Rose would make him this drink and chat with him. Oddly enough, Jack liked Rose much better than Rachel. Perhaps it was the presence Rose carried. She was very relaxed and very honest while Rachel was much more uptight for someone who worked in a bar. So much so that it was odd that Rose was packing her bags and moving on while Rachel was planning to stay and work in the bar long term.

"I suppose you will," Rose said with a shrug. "But you better get your fill because, like I said, I'm out of here next week." There she went again, talking about how she was going to leave.

"I know, I know," Jack said as he waved away the last bit of information she had offered. "I heard ya the first time ya told me. I don't get it, but I guess I'll have to deal," Jack said with a shrug.

"Don't tell me you're going to miss me. I've only known you for like two minutes," Rose said with a skeptical look on her face.

"No, but if it was Rachel leaving, that would be a different story," Jack teased. Rose stuck out her tongue and Jack and whacked him with the dish towel that had been on her shoulder. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Jack said as he raised his hands, motioning for a truce.

"You better be," Rose warned. This time she was totally serious. "I know it's hard for you to believe and you definitely don't want to believe it, but Rachel's not as sweet as she seems. You better watch out around her."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jack replied with a curious look on his face. Rose was deadly serious and Jack wasn't one to ignore such a warning.

"You do that," Rose replied as she reached forward and grabbed the shot glass Jack had used. "Oh shit," Rose grumbled as the glass fell from her hands and shattered on the other side of the bar where she was standing. "This always happens to me. I don't know why I had to be cursed with klutziness. I could deal with anything but this," Rose grumbled as she set down her glass and went to go find the broom and dust pan in order to clean up the mess she had made. Jack watched the sheepish girl walk down the length of the bar. She really was interesting, much more so than her sister. And she seemed to know more about this guy he was looking for, so maybe it was her he should be cozying up to.

Jack shook those thoughts of out his head as Rose returned with the objects she went to fetch. This girl wasn't someone to be toyed with. She wasn't someone Jack could manipulate like her sister. Besides, for some reason he didn't want to. He would rather her be his friend than anything else. "Please excuse me while I try and clean up my mess without hurting myself too badly," Rose mumbled as she knelt down and began to sweep up the broken glass. Jack leaned over the bar to watch Rose clean up the mess she had made at if it was a spectacle or something amusing.

"I never pegged you for a klutz," Jack teased lightly as Rose stood up and, with a sigh, dumped the pieces of the shot glass into the garbage.

"Yeah, well I never pegged you to be so irritating," Rose said with a huff as she walked down the length of the bar to put the dustpan and the broom where they belonged.

"Oh shit, Rose, don't tell me you're mad at me for teasing you," Jack complained as he jumped up and hurried to catch up with Rose. "I didn't mean anything by it, it was just a joke!"

"Do you know how many times I've been told I'm too clumsy for my own good? It's not like I wasn't teased my entire childhood because there were times when I would trip over my own feet. Why do I need to deal with it now?" Rose argued as she busied herself behind the bar, not bothering to look at Jack.

"Jesus, if I had known you'd get to pissy about a little joke, I wouldn'ta said anything!" Jack exclaimed as he set his hands on the counter top and leaned over as to get closer to Rose so she couldn't ignore him.

"It's not a little joke," Rose pouted as she finally turned to look at Jack. "It's annoying when people point out your flaws all the time."

"Fuck it, Rose I don't need this right now. When you realize how crazy you're being, come find me," Jack growled as he pushing himself away from the bar and walked out into the bright afternoon sun. It was only when the he was three blocks away and was thinking straight again that he realized he hadn't completed his mission. Lord knew he wasn't going to go back in there and let Rose think she was right so Jack was going to have to wait until Monday to meet up with the well dressed, blond haired man.

"Fuck," Jack swore. The continual string of curses continued the whole walk home. He couldn't believe he let a girl get in the way of his plan. Who was he? Angel? Jack stopped walking as the tears formed in his eyes. He couldn't do this alone. He had no one to get his back or to help him up when he fell. And even when he was on the verge of maybe making a new friend, he had pushed her away. Not to mention that she was leaving.

"Hey, wait up!" Jack heard someone call. Since he wasn't walking, Jack simply stood there while trying to blink away his tears. God forbid anyone should see Jack Mercer crying.

As the heavy footsteps got closer and closer, Jack hoped it wouldn't be Rose. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with her right now as he was so angry at himself for leaving the bar. Of course, if it was her, then perhaps she would drag him back to the bar with her and he wouldn't have to wait until next week.

But it wasn't Rose, although he was close. It was Rachel. "Hey Jack," Rachel said as she caught up with him.

"Hey Rachel," Jack replied as he turned to face her.

"What're you up to today?" Rachel asked curiously, not even noticing how red Jack's eyes were. "Because I'm going skating with my friends and I saw you and thought maybe you would want to come."

"Skating?" Jack asked. He hadn't pulled his skates out of the closet since the day before Bobby was taken away. Just another thing he didn't do anymore.

"Yeah, and maybe a pick up game of hockey," Rachel explained. "Not me though, I'm no good with a hockey stick, but my friends play a bit."

"You'll have to let me go home and find my blades first, d'you mind?" Jack asked. He had to do something that afternoon as opposed to beating himself up about the missed opportunity and skating was as good as any distration.

"Not at all!" Rachel exclaimed. Before Jack knew what was happened, Rachel had linked arms with him and he was leading her back to his place.

* * *

**AN: Right, so that's it for now. I'm a little nervous about this chapter because I think my writing my be different than it used to be, so please let me know what you all think. Constructive critique is always welcome, it's probably my favorite things, actually, so go ahead and say what you feel. I'll be thankful for anything, I assure you. **

**I think from now on I'll be keeping a more regular writing schedule, so expect weekly or bi-weekly updates until it's done. It shouldn't be much longer either. Jack's just gotta get his act together. **

**Alright, thanks for reading and please review!! I love you guys for dealing with me, even though I have no idea who's reading this anymore!!**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby **


	5. The One Thing He's Good At

**Chapter 4:**

"So this is where you live?" Rachel asked as Jack unlocked the door to the Mercer house, letting him and Rachel into the old, slightly musty edifice. It had been a long time since anyone had done some serious cleaning. 

"Yep," Jack mumbled as he ran up the stairs to grab his skates as quickly as he could. Something didn't feel right about letting Rachel spend so much time in his house. 

"Is this you?" Rachel called up the stairs as Jack walked into his room, threw open his closet door and dug for his skates and old hockey stick. It only took a few moments to find what he was looking for. When he finally did locate the desired objects, he tossed his skates over his shoulder, grasped his hockey stick in his hand and went to rejoin Rachel. 

"Which?" Jack asked as he bounded down the stairs. 

"This," Rachel said. She was looking at a picture of a bunch of rowdy looking boys and a sweet, light haired woman. The boy Rachel was pointing to was ten years old boy and it was most definitely Jack. 

"Yeah, that's me and my brothers with my Ma," Jack mumbled, not really in the mood to look at the aforementioned photo. Or any of the other photos Evelyn had hung up around the house over the years. The Mercer mother has always been so proud of her boys, no matter what they did or what happened to them. Because of this, Jack didn't have the heart to take down the photos of his family even though looking at them still pained him. 

"You were a giant, even as a kid," Rachel commented lightly. 

"No, I ain't a giant, just a bean pole," Jack replied automatically. A giant portrayed an image of strength, menace and girth and Jack didn't possess any of those qualities. Or at least he didn't think so and anytime anyone had every called him a giant, even when Ma had done so, he had always been quick to correct them. 

"Whatever you say," Rachel said with a shrug before walking out of the house. Jack shook his thoughts out of his head and followed his companion out the door. He quickly locked up before jogging down the porch steps to catch up with Rachel. 

"So you play," Rachel said. It wasn't a question, more of a statement. His hockey stick and skates look well worn in and anyone would be able to tell her had used them on more than one occasion in the past. She was just making idle conversation. 

"Yeh," Jack replied briefly before blowing a piece of hair out of his face.

"Are you any good?" Rachel asked skeptically as she threw Jack a sideways glance as to size him up. 

"Yeh," Jack muttered again. Or at least that's what his brothers had told him and they weren't ones to lie about hockey skills. 

"What position do you play?" Rachel asked, pursuing this line of question. Jack wished she would stop. He hated stupid small talk. 

"Whatever needs playing," Jack replied. 

"Really?" Rachel asked in surprise. 

"My brother always said that you need to get in the game at any costs and the only way to do that is to know how to do it all," Jack said as he looked over to see the look of astonishment on Rachel's face and then turned to keep his eyes on the ground. 

"That's an interesting theory, but wouldn't it be better to be really good at just one position so that you always get picked for it?" Rachel asked curiously. 

"Well I got really good at one and then moved on to 'nother. I've been playin hockey for s'long as I can 'member," Jack slurred tiredly. When did her questions end?

"Oh," Rachel replied brightly. A few moments of blissful silence passed, causing Jack to think that perhaps the interrogation was over. He was wrong. "So how long have you lived in Detroit?" she asked with renewed vigor. 

"S'long as I can 'member," Jack repeated monotonously 

"Yeah? How are you not an icicle? It's freezing here," Rachel chirped. She was clearly not getting the message. 

"S'not so bad," Jack replied. "Colder in Canada," he added for a reason he couldn't really fathom. He knew it would only lead to more questions and that was the very last thing he wanted at that moment. 

"Oh! We're here!" Rachel exclaimed. Jack mumbled a quick prayer to God for bringing them to the rink in good time. Rachel was driving him crazy. 

"What's that?" Rachel asked as she turned to look at Jack. 

"Nothin," Jack replied quickly. She had almost heard him praying. That was on the verge of awkward and intrusive. 

"Oh, okay," Rachel replied as she grabbed Jack's free hand and dragged him towards the rink. Jack felt the impending dread in his chest as they entered the rink. However, once Rachel pushed the door open and pulled Jack after her, the familiar chill of the rink enveloped Jack's tall frame and forced the fear out of him. In its place there was an undeniable sense of peace. 

As Rachel, her hand still grasping his, pulled Jack to the skate rental desk, chattering her mouth off as she went, Jack wondered how it was that he had kept away from the rink for so long. It had clearly been a mistake if the joy he was feeling at the moment was any indication. 

"Earth to Jack!" Rachel called after a few moments of talking to the man behind the skate rental desk. 

"What?" Jack asked in annoyance as he snapped out of his daze and looked down at Rachel. She might be on the taller side for a girl but she was still much shorter than his tall, lithe frame. 

"C'mon!" Rachel exclaimed, not even hearing Jack's aggravation as she pulled him towards the benches so they could put on their skates. 

Jack set down his hockey stick, shucked off his shoes, pulled on and laced up his old hockey skates in record time. Once he was done, he grabbed his hockey stick, abandoned Rachel, who was still tying up her first skate, and made his way to the large ice rink. 

It was only when Jack first stepped on the ice that he fully realized how stupid he had been. His long legs propelled him forward as he circuited the rink, avoiding the few people on the rink with ease. After five or six laps, Jack slowed to a stop. He was feeling much better and thought that perhaps it was time to check on Rachel. 

"You're good," Rachel said as Jack skated over to her lazily. "You honestly make that look easy."

"I told ya, I've been skating since forever," Jack replied with a shrug as he slung his hockey stick over his shoulders. 

"Rach, is this your friend?" someone asked as he and a few others staked up behind Jack. 

"Oh yeah, guys, this is Jack. Jack, this is Andre, Kimmie, Dee, Harry, Nate, Mike and Wallace," Rachel said, pointing to everyone in turn. "Now would someone help me onto the ice? I'm clearly the worst skater here," Rachel said with a pout. 

But Jack hadn't heard Rachel's request. His gaze was stuck on the man that Rachel had called Nate. He had long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and there was a nickel charm hanging from his ear. He was the guy Jack had been waiting for. 

Jack stood there watching Nate as he and Mike helped Rachel onto the ice and continued to watch them until a little kid slammed into Jack's calves, nearly causing him to fall over. Jack shook off his stupor, helped the kid up and then pushed off the ice as to catch up with the group of friends.

* * *

"So now that Rachel's given up, what do you guys say to a quick scrimmage?" Andre asked once Mike and Nate had rejoined the group. They had been helping Rachel back to the benches. She really was the hopeless skater she said she was. Everyone quickly agreed and teams were formed accordingly. A sinister smile appeared on Jack's face as he noticed that Nate was put on the opposite team, giving Jack plenty of reason to smack the blond around a bit. 

Minutes into the game, it was clear to everyone that Jack was not only the best skater of the group, but the best hockey player as well. Jack smirked at his teammates looks of awe as he slipped around Mike, who was the biggest, tallest and broadest out of all of them, with ease, slammed into Nate, who had control of the puck and shot the abandoned puck into the goal. If there was one thing he was good at, it was this. 

The game continued for another fifteen minutes before the playing became rough. It seemed Nate and Mike didn't take losing as badly as they were kindly and decided that if they couldn't beat Jack, they would take him out.

"Jack, watch out!" a voice called from the sidelines. Not bothering to look at who had called out to him, Jack took a sharp left turn, deviating from his original course, causing Nate and Mike to slam into each other. The two men fell on their backs as a result of the impact while Jack glanced over his shoulder to see who his savior was. 

"Hey," Jack said breathlessly as he skated over to Rose. 

"Holy crap, Jack they were aiming to kill you!" Rose said once Jack was standing in front of her. Her green eyes were wide in fear as she threw her arms around Jack's neck. 

"Rose, calm down," Jack muttered as he awkwardly patted Rose's back. "I'm okay thanks to you."

"No problem," Rose mumbled as she pulled back from Jack, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I'm sorry I hugged you, I just freaked out," Rose apologized as her blush spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. 

"S'okay," Jack replied shortly. He had a pretty good idea of how Rose felt about losing people in her life and he couldn't blame her for freaking out even if he had only known her for such a short period of time. 

"What did you do to make them so angry?" Rose asked curiously, changing the subject as she tried to push back her embarrassment. 

"I was better than them," Jack suggested with a shrug. "Guys as big as them think they're the best just 'cause they're big. I ain't big like them, but I'm ten times better at hockey than them."

"Hey, Jack," Rachel said as she approached the pair. "Can you help us with Mike and Nate? They're pretty bad off from smacking into each other." Jack shook his head at Rachel in disbelief. Her friends had clearly tried to injure him and she was asking for help from him?

"I can't, I gotta go," Jack replied as he skated over to the exit and walked over to the benches with Rose following him. 

"Listen, I'm also sorry about earlier," Rose said as she took Jack's hockey stick from him so he could take off his skates without worrying about it. "I was being a little crazy because I'm just having a really bad week." 

"Don't worry 'bout it," Jack said, brushing off Rose's apology without even looking up at her. "I get it." 

"Thanks," Rose replied with a sigh of relief. 

"Alright, let's get outta here," Jack said as he stood up and put his skates over his shoulder and took his hockey stick back from Rose. 

"Where're we going?" Rose asked as she followed Jack out of the building and into the bitter cold. 

"Away from here," Jack replied shortly as he looked both ways before jogging across the street. Rose followed Jack quietly all the way back to the Mercer house, unlike her sister had, which Jack was more than grateful for. 

"You can toss your stuff anywhere," Jack said as he unlocked the door and led Rose into the house. 

"Jeeze, this house is a little too homey for a hard ass like you, don't you think?" Rose asked as she walked into the living room and stripped off outer layers until she was wearing an old concert-T, jeans and socks.

"It was my Ma's," Jack replied shortly as he tossed his coat onto the dining room table and walked into the kitchen. "You thirsty?" Jack asked as he threw open the refrigerator door, pulled out the milk carton and flipped open the container, drinking a long gulp without even bothering to pour the white liquid into a glass. "Hey, what were you doing at the rink anyways?" Jack asked as he used his free arm to wipe his mouth.

"Uh, well, Rachel came in to the bar to try and find you. She asked me where you were. I said you'd left a few minutes back. She said that if I saw you again, I should tell you to meet her at the rink because she was going skating with some friends. When I managed off work earlier then I was supposed to, I figured Rachel had gotten you to go to the rink with her and it was as good a time as any to apologize for earlier today," Rose replied, answering his second question first as she made her way to the kitchen. "You got anything you haven't drunk straight out of the container for me?" Rose added, returning to his first question. 

"Um, water and cans of beer," Jack replied with a nod signifying that he accepted her reasons for being at the rink at just the right second. "And I might've finished the beer the other night," Jack continued after thinking about it for a moment. 

"Mm, water sounds good," Rose said with a mock thoughtful look on her face. "Where're the glasses?" Rose asked as she began opening cupboards to try and find that she was looking for. 

"That one," Jack mumbled as Rose pulled open yet another cupboard door to find what she had been looking for. 

"Fabulous," Rose replied as she pulled out a tall glass that looked as though it hadn't been used in months. "You ever use these?" Rose asked in distaste as she flicked on the tap and rinsed out the glass a few times before filling it up with water. 

"Nope," Jack said shortly. "What for? It's just me." 

"You could try to be civilized," Rose retorted before taking a long sip of lukewarm water. 

"Where's the fun in that?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow as he opened the freezer and motioned for Rose to help herself to an ice cube or two. Once they were both settled with their drinks, the pair stood in the kitchen for a while, Jack occasionally taking a sip from the milk carton and Rose cradling the glass of tap water and ice in her hands.

"One of the guys who was tryin' to check me was the guy I was waitin' for this morning," Jack finally blurted out as he closed the carton and shoved it back into the refrigerator. 

"What?" Rose asked in surprise as she set her glass on the counter. 

"His name is Nate," Jack continued. "He's friends with Rachel."

"I told you she was no good," Rose grumbled. 

"And I think I saw one of the other girls playing wearing the same kind of earrings Nate was and the other guy who was attacking me had a pinky ring with the same nickel on it," Jack muttered as it dawned on him that each of the people he had played hockey with that day had been wearing a nickel charm. 

"Fuck, do you think Rachel's one of them?" Rose asked. 

"Either that or she's in a shit load of trouble," Jack replied as he walked into the living room, sat down on the couch and pulled his tattered notebook onto his lap. "D'you have a pen?" Jack asked as he looked up to see Rose had followed him into the living room. 

"Actually, yeah, I do," Rose replied as she picked up her coat and rummaged around in the pockets for a few minutes before producing a black ballpoint pen.

"Thanks," Jack said as he took the pen from Rose and began scribbling in his notebook. Rose sat down next to Jack and waited patiently for him to finish without trying to read over his shoulder. Jack smiled slightly as he wrote, thankful that Rose was absolutely nothing like her annoying sister. 

"Okay, so what's going on?" Rose asked as Jack capped the pen about five minutes later. 

"Long story short, my brother's in prison for a crime he didn't commit and I'm tryin' to prove it. To do that, I needa track down who did it, why they did it and get some evidence. Then I needa find a lawyer who will help me," Jack confessed. "And with everything I learned today, I think that maybe Rachel has something to do with these guys and what happened to Bobby. And if she doesn't, then she could be in deep shit," Jack added, reiterating what he had said earlier, but this time in context. These guys had not only framed Bobby, but they had murdered the people Bobby allegedly killed. 

"Which do you think it is?" Rose asked softly. She was almost fearful of his response and, for just a second, Jack thought she might care about her sister.

"I dunno, but I'm going to find out," Jack replied with a determined look on his face. "And if she is involved with them… then I suppose she's a bad guy and if she's a bad guy and she gets in the way and gets hurt because of what I need to do, I hope you won't be mad at me," Jack continued with an apologetic tone in his voice.

"I won't," Rose replied as she shook her head to emphasize her point. "Rachel was never really my sister in the way Bobby's your brother."

"No, I guess not," Jack said thoughtfully before closing his notebook and tossing it onto the coffee table once again. "So what do you want to do?" Jack asked, suddenly changing the topic. 

"Oh, um… maybe we could watch a movie?" Rose asked, surprised in her voice and on her face. 

"Sure," Jack replied with a shrug before getting up and picking out a video tape to pop into the very old VHS machine. Jack wasn't very good at letting people into his life, but Rose would and could help when her sister either wouldn't or couldn't. Rose's help alone was enough to make Jack do anything to make her feel more comfortable, even if it did go against everything the well fortified walls around his heart were telling him.

* * *

**A/N: I've got nothing much to say other than many thanks to Ghostwriter and Mrs. Hedlund for reviewing. This one was for you guys. Hopefully the next chapter will be out by next week, I just need to get my new laptop so I can finish writing it.**

**Please review and let me know what you think, it would make my laptop dying situation a lot better.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	6. A Week Or Less

**A/N: Okay, chapter 5, take II. At least I caught it early enough so that most of you didn't even have to read the other one. And if you did, the beginning is the same until Rachel walks in, so you can just scroll down a bit if you want.**

**This chapter's short, but it does have a purpose: to establish how Jack feels about Rose and Rachel and to show just how much Rose and Rachel really don't like each other. And I promise, they really don't like each other (sorry Umi Pryde).**

**Anyways, enough me, time for story:**

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine unless it is. **

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

It was around lunchtime on Friday when Jack next walked into the bar. Rose was too busy to notice him. Apparently on Friday afternoon men would leave their jobs early and start their weekend drinking before they should have. Jack passed the already tipsy workers and went to occupy his usual corner.

"Why don't you ever seem to go to work?" Rose asked breathlessly as she finally made her way over to Jack.

"My boss told me to take a paid vacation. I go back next week," Jack replied shortly, not elaborating on the details of this paid vacation simply because he didn't want her pity. Jack's boss was a family man. He saw the issues Jack had been having with his brothers gone so he had told him to just take a little break and collect himself. Workers were more productive when they were collected, apparently.

"What do you do?" Rose asked. Jack nearly smiled at her. She was nosy, but knowledgeable. She knew her lines and, as much as she didn't always want to stay in them, she did.

"I work for a small publishing company," Jack confessed after a moment's hesitation. He had been thinking about lying about his job. Working for a publishing company wasn't something a hard ass, as Rose had called him the other day, would do, but it was the truth.

"Publishing?" Rose snorted, echoing Jack's thoughts in one word.

"Yeh, I like to read and I used to write and play music. I was good buddies with the creative process not too long ago," Jack replied with a challenging look on his face. He didn't talk like he worked for a publishing company, nor did he dress or act the part, but that clearly didn't have any impact on what he could honestly do. He was a damn good editor.

"So what do you like most about your job?" Rose asked once she had gotten over her disbelief.

"Reading manuscripts," Jack replied with an almost wistful smile on his face. He had been missing his job. He loved reading unedited, unperfected books. Seeing flaws in an original manuscript was like seeing the flaws in life. Books could be made to be perfect, or to at least have a reason, but life couldn't. He was glad to find an opportunity to match his reading list to his life.

"That does sound kind of exhilarating," Rose agreed with a satisfied look on her face, as if she truly understood his reasoning. "So what's your poison today, Mr. Mercer?" Rose asked after looking down the bar briefly to see that the workers were getting ready to harass her for more drinks.

"A beer and some fries, please," Jack said, remembering the manners Ma had taught him all of the sudden.

"No problem, Jack," Rose replied with a surprised yet satisfied look on her face. She clearly hadn't been expecting Jack to be polite and he didn't blame her.

"Thanks," Jack called down the bar as she walked away. He figured if she was going to be confused, she might as well not have any doubts. He watched Rose shake her head at his antics as she made her way to the paying customers, her light hair glinting in the dim lighting of the bar.

Jack unconsciously allowed a small smile onto his face as he kept one eye on Rose and the other on the door. She really was wriggling her way into his closed life. Which sucked, Jack came to realized, causing his smile to turn into a frown. She was leaving and he would never hear from her again. She was leaving just like Jerry. God, this always happened to him.

"Hi Jack," Rachel said as she plopped down on the vacant barstool next to him, Jack hadn't seen her come in, nor had he noticed her walk his way. He was too busy staring at Rose.

"Hey," Jack replied as he pulled his eyes off of the profile of a laughing Rose and resettled them onto her sister's face.

"Are you okay? You looked a little off yesterday," Rachel asked seriously, getting straight to the point.

"Uh, yeah, I'm good," Jack replied, a little bit surprised. He had never known Rachel to be so straightforward. Usually she asked a lot of meaningless questions and, perhaps, within those questions, there was one or two of real significance.

"Ok, good," Rachel replied cheerfully, her serious demeanor disappearing just as abruptly as it had appeared, confusing Jack so badly that he didn't even realize that Rachel was going on again, just as she always did, talking about things Jack probably didn't care about.

"Beer and fries," Rose announced cheerfully, successfully snapping Jack out of his stupor.

"Thanks Rose," Jack said. He had meant what he was saying for once. He was grateful that she had walked back down the length of the bar to give him his food and return him to the land of normalcy, the one where Rachel's logic didn't reign.

"Hello Rose," Jack heard Rachel say. She must have stopped her inane chatter when Rose had walked over.

"Rachel," Rose replied with a nod. Jack could see the uneasy look in her green eyes.

"Well, Jack, I'm just here to ask you if you wanted to come out to dinner with me tonight. Maybe some pizza and ice cream?" Rachel suggested as she turned her attention back to Jack, getting to her point much sooner than Jack knew she wanted to. He was sure she had wanted to sit there and waste both of their time for another twenty minutes before asking him on a date. 

"Uh," Jack began lamely, trying to think up a good excuse. He was usually very good at lying to women, but Rachel had caught him at a weak moment. Besides, maybe if he went on this date, he could figure out what was going on with Rachel and all the people who wore those Nickel charms. "Yeah, sure," Jack finally concluded. 

"Oh, great!" Rachel exclaimed happily. "So I'll meet you here at like 7 and then we'll go, kay?" Rachel asked enthusiastically as she got up from her stool to leave. She pecked Jack on the cheek affectionately, thoroughly stunning him so that he didn't even have the presence of mind to say goodbye to Rachel as she bounded out of the bar. 

"So a date with my sister," Rose said with a skeptical look on her face as she reached over, picked up a fry and popped it into her mouth. 

"Yeah, a date with your sister," Jack confirmed. It sounded as ridiculous to him as it did to Rose. 

"I hope you know what you're doing Jack," Rose warned. He couldn't tell if she was worried or jealous. For some strange reason, he hoped it was both. 

"I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm sure I'll figure it out before 7," Jack pointed out. 

"Okay, but don't call me crying because she's gone bat shit crazy on you for saying something that sounded like the right thing to say even though it was the wrong thing in her demented brain," Rose grumbled. Yeah, she was jealous. 

"And here I was thinking that you didn't want me to go because she could potentially be working for Sam Nickels, not because you wish I was going on the date with you tonight instead of her," Jack teased, picking on Rose's jealously. 

Rose snorted disbelievingly at Jack. "You really think that highly of yourself?" Rose asked as she stole another french fry and ate it with a sour look on her tell-all face. 

"Hey, I don't blame you, I'm good looking," Jack said as he puffed out his chest egotistically. 

"Oh shut up," Rose said as she reached across the bar and slapped Jack's chest with the back of her hand. She hadn't hit Jack hard, only hard enough to deflate his chest and bring him back down to Earth. 

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm not going out with her because I like her," Jack said, his voice suddenly very serious. "I really am trying to see what she's got to do with a guy like Nickels. I don't have a crush on her, but I don't want to see her hurt or anything and I know you don't either, no matter how much you hate her," Jack pointed out. 

"Fine," Rose said finally, a pout on her face as she darted her hand forward to take another fry.

"I don't think so," Jack said as he grabbed Rose's hand before she could successfully take anymore of his snack. With his free hand, Jack casually picked up his beer and took a swig as if holding Rose's hand back took no effort nor caused any tingling feelings to run up and down his arms. Rose didn't have to know the effect she was having on him, but Jack was most definitely aware of it and was only too happy to let go of his companion's hand after slamming the beer bottle back onto the bar top. 

"Mean," Rose said as she stuck her tongue out at Jack playfully. 

"I've been called worse," Jack said with a nonchalant shrug. Much worse. Besides, he was still trying to shrug off the effects her touch had on him.

"Probably," Rose said with a smug smile on her face as she quickly grabbed one last french fry, stuck it in her mouth and walked back down the bar, leaving Jack to himself for the time being. 

"That girl is going to be the death of me," Jack mumbled as he pulled the fries closer to him, set his elbows on the bar and leaned over his french fries. It was as if he was shielding them from Rose, who, as Jack could see, was all the way at the other end of the bar, wrenching off bottle caps for the workers who had ordered yet another round of alcohol. 

Jack had yet to decipher what it was that Rose's presence was doing to him. He wasn't even sure he wanted to know. But he figured that if he ever did want to know, it would have to wait. Jack had a whole list full of things he had to do that trumped figuring out how he felt about Rose. Freeing Bobby was at the top. Of course, he would have to manage that task in a week or less because Rose was leaving and if it turned out he wanted her to stay, he would have to think of a damn good reason to make her do so. 

Jack reached into his pocket after finishing his meager meal and dropped a few bills on the bar counter to cover his tab and to leave a nice tip for Rose, even though he knew she would protest if she saw it. He then popped a piece of Nicorette gum in his mouth, pulled up the collar of his leather jacket and made his way out of the bar with only a wave in Rose's direction as a sign of farewell. Jack Mercer had a date to get ready for and he wasn't going to be late.

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**A/N: Okay. That's it for now. I'll have more soon.**

**Quick love to the reviewers:**

**Ghostwriter -- Thanks!**

**Umi Pryde -- I wasn't thinking about doing a Bobby scene, but that might be something I'll want to do in the near future. I'm not sure yet, but thanks for the suggestion either way. And oh, don't worry, I know Jack's not Superman or anything, his extra muscle will be arriving soon. **

**Just one more thing: PLEASE review... reviews really do inspire me to write so it's a win-win situation.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby **

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	7. Practically Strangers

**A/N: I'm having a really bad week and it's color war (which means pretty much no classes), so basically I'm spending my free time (aka ditching color war activities because I hate all things competitive) between the art room and holing up in a corner and writing. This means chapter 7 will be finished in the very near future. So read, be merry and drop me a review to let me know what you think (I could definitely use the warm fuzzies reviews bring right about now).**

**Disclaimer -- Not mine unless it is. **

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**Chapter 6:**

The date hadn't been so bad. Sure, Rachel had gone on and on about things Jack didn't care about for two or three hours while they ate, only allowing him to get in a few words in, but he didn't mind. He didn't really have anything to say to her. He just wanted to make sure she was okay and that her friends weren't hurting her. And they weren't. Jack had asked a few subtle questions whose answers had quelled that fear. 

Jack had also been able to discern that Rachel wasn't working for Nickels either but it wasn't because he had asked any questions. From the way she talked, Jack had heard Rachel's life story by the end of the night. Jack figured that Nickels would be an idiot to take on a girl like this because she would have blabbed his secrets all over Detroit five minutes after she had been told. 

Now, as Jack walked home, all he could think about was how much he wished he had turned Rachel down and used Rose as an excuse. He would have much preferred to spend the night with his day bartender. She was much more interesting than Rachel and she actually seemed to be genuine, which wasn't a characteristic that could be found in most people in Detroit. 

But she was leaving, just like everyone else. So in reality, it was probably better that he didn't turn Rachel down for Rose because Jack knew he could fall hard for Rose and he didn't want to let her hurt him the way that Ma, Angel and Jerry did when they left. Not that Ma or Angel chose to leave. No, Jack couldn't really be upset at them for leaving, but he could be upset they were gone.

"Hey pretty boy, where do you think you're going?" Jack heard a loud, angry voice call from behind him. Jack frowned, ducked his head further into his jacket and kept walking. It wasn't often he was followed by Detroit thugs, but when it did happen, as Jack had learned the hard way, walking fast and not saying anything in return was the best way to do it. 

"Pretty boy, I'm talking to you. Don't be a faggot. Turn around and face me," the voice insisted. Jack heard more than one set of footsteps and knew he was in trouble.

"He ain't listening, boss, I think we should just take him down like we was told ta do," a second voice said. Jack could hear the sneer on his face and began to walk even faster.

"I think you're right," the first voice said menacingly. That was when Jack began to run. He knew they were running too and he knew he wouldn't be able to outrun them. He would have to hide. 

As Jack ran, he looked around for a dark corner to hide in but, for some strange reason, he couldn't seem to find one, which was unusual for a cloudy Detroit night. Just as Jack was pondering where all the good hiding spots had run off too, he was knocked to the ground by one of the thugs who had been chasing after him. 

Jack began fighting furiously with the asshole who had knocked him to the ground, thrashing under his larger frame, hoping to wind him or knock him off of him if only for a moment so he could jump up and start running again. But there was one thing he had forgotten: the other guy. 

Once both of the hired men were throwing punches, Jack knew he didn't stand a chance. Not that he stopped fighting back. Mercers never stopped fighting back. But Jack was aware that he wasn't going to get out of this in one piece. Not a chance. 

* * *

When Jack woke up, the last thing he could remember was being shoved to the ground by some jackass who had been following him and getting beaten up by him and his friend. The only way he knew he wasn't dead was by the immense pain he was feeling.

"Oh thank God you're awake," Jack heard a female say breathlessly as a hand wrapped itself around his. The voice was so familiar but he couldn't quite place it. 

"I was so worried, Jack. I swear, when I found you on my walk home, I thought you were dead," the voice rambled. Jack's brain was sluggishly trying to put together the pieces. It was either Rose or Rachel. Those were the only two familiar female voices in his life aside from Jerry's wife, Camille, but she was in London, so it couldn't be her. 

Jack simply grunted in response. It was the only thing he could honestly manage. "Oh shit, do you want some water or to sit up or something?" the voice asked as she stood up and bent over Jack, finally putting herself in his limited line of vision. It was Rose. Thank God it was Rose. Jack had been hoping with every aching bone in his body that it would be Rose and not Rachel. 

"Lemme go get a doctor, okay? I'll be right back," Rose said as she took her hand off Jack's and ran out into the hallway to try and find a doctor. Jack turned his head slowly and kept his eyes trained on Rose's foot which was keeping the door open. Jack could have sworn he was dreaming that she was there with him and figured that the minute he looked away, she would be gone and he would be alone again. 

"Fuck," Rose mumbled as she walked back into the room minutes later, clearly unsuccessful and very clearly still there, proving to Jack that this was definitely not a dream. "Getting the attention of a doctor in this place is like trying to hail a cab in New York City when it's raining," Rose said angrily as she walked back over to Jack. 

"S'okay," Jack managed to choke out. 

"No it's not," Rose protested. "What is something bad happens? Why can't they spare five goddamn minutes to come check on you? What is wrong with these assholes?" Rose ranted, her voice near yelling. 

"Rose, please," Jack said weakly as he reached out a shaking arm to take Rose's hand. 

"Oh God, here I am rambling like I'm some sort of victim when you're the one who's hurt," Rose said miserably. Jack could see the embarrassment on her face. 

"S'okay," Jack replied with some effort. It was getting easier to talk, but not by much. 

"Here, let me help you sit up and I'll get you some water, alright?" Rose said as she set to the task without waiting for Jack to nod in agreement, which he would have if his head didn't hurt so much. 

Once Jack was settled into a relatively comfortable sitting position, Rose poured him a glass of water from the pitcher that was sitting beside his bed. "I know it's not very cold, but it should help," Rose said apologetically as she held the glass to Jack's lips and helped him drink it, both of them knowing Jack wouldn't be able to do anything without help for at least a little while. 

"Thanks," Jack said once he had emptied the glass. If nothing else, his throat was feeling a lot better. 

"How are you feeling?" Rose asked softly after she had set aside the glass and sat down in the chair next to Jack's bed. 

"Like shit," Jack replied shortly before closing his eyes in pain. 

"That makes sense," Rose said as she reached forward and took Jack's hand in hers again, giving him silent permission to squeeze away the pain if he wanted to. He grimaced at her, his version of a grateful smile, and tightened his hold on her hand.

"Oh Jack," Rose said softly as she reached over with her free hand and brushed his long hair out of his face carefully and, Jack thought, lovingly. "You scared me so much."

"You found me?" Jack asked, ignoring her previous sentiment and trying to piece together what had happened after he had been attacked. 

"I was on my way home from dinner with my friend who's passing through town," Rose began with a tired sigh, knowing exactly what Jack wanted and not liking it one bit. "We grabbed a slice of pizza at the same place you and Rachel went to. We saw you leaving the pizza place and I would have said something, but you know how I stand with my sister," Rose said with a shrug as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 

"So we went and grabbed some pizza and after that, I walked my friend to his hotel. I was on my way home after that, thinking about maybe grabbing a pint of ice cream from the store and curling up with a good chick flick on the couch for lack of anything else to do, but then I saw the two guys beating you up. Of course, I didn't realize it was you on the ground when I called 911. It was only when the thugs heard the sirens in the distance that they ran off and I made my way over to you. Let me tell you, when I finally did realize it was you on the ground with your face punched in, I nearly had a heart attack," Rose said with a distressed look on her face, as if she was reliving the moment. 

"The cops questioned me for a few minutes and then the ambulance came. I begged and pleaded for a good minute before they let me ride with you. They made me sit in some waiting room for a few hours while they did all these tests on you to make sure you were still in one piece and there was no internal bleeding or anything like that." Rose needed to take a short break after that. Jack recalled what Rose had told him about her father and stepbrother for not the first time. He, like her, had lost people they had truly cared about and losing anyone else, even someone as seemingly insignificant as Jack was to Rose, would not be easy. 

"They let me in here a few hours ago. From what I can tell they seem to think you're fine. Or at least as fine as can be expected. The doctor told me they'll be keeping you here for the weekend for observation and then he disappeared and I haven't seen him since," Rose finished with an angry look on her round face. Jack could tell it was directed at the aforementioned doctor. 

"What time is it?" Jack asked kindly after listening to Rose's story. Now wasn't the time to be mean or direct with Rose. He owed her that much and probably much more. 

"I dunno, like 4 in the morning or something," Rose said as she tugged back her sleeve to look at the thin silver watch that adorned her wrist. "Yeah, 4:30 in the am," Rose confirmed.

"Thanks for staying," Jack said honestly with a sheepish smile on his face. 

"Thanks for smiling," Rose replied tiredly as she set her head down on Jack's bed. She had been awake for much longer than Jack had been and she had been through quite an ordeal, waiting to make sure he would be okay. She had every right to be exhausted. 

"Me, smile?" Jack asked innocently. He hadn't realized it until she pointed it out, but it was true. He had been smiling and it was not the first time in the last twenty-four hours either. It was all for her. 

"Mmhm," Rose mumbled in response, not bothering to look at him as she did so. "Go sleep," Rose whined softly as Jack opened his mouth to say something else. How she knew him so well after only a few days was beyond him. 

"Okay," Jack replied as he slowly sunk down in the bed so that he wasn't sitting up anymore. Now that he thought about it, he was quite tired. Jack's eyes fluttered shut at about the same time Rose's did and they both slept like that; Jack uncomfortable from the pain inflicted on her earlier that night and Rose passed out, part on the chair and part on the bed, guaranteed to feel it in the morning. 

It was only the night nurse, who walked in minutes after they had fallen asleep to check Jack's charts, who noted how odd the pair looked. But even though they looked so odd, she couldn't help but smile. There was something very endearing about the tall, thin boy who was lying on the bed and the slightly heavyset girl who was clutching his hand like an anchor to shore that the nurse couldn't quite put her finger on. Whatever it was, it was soothing all the same. The night nurse went home that morning with a smile on her face and with hope in her heart that the boy would get better. She hoped the boy and the girl would have their happily ever after, not realizing that they were, in actuality, practically strangers.

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**A/N: Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for reading and please review. I miss those things (and just a note, I don't post a new chapter until I get at least one review for the previous one.. but more than one would make me want to post the chapter more!)**

**Quick shout out to my only reviewer:**

**Umi Pryde - Sorry you didn't get to see Jack primp! I didn't think it fit the tone of this chapter. If it had been a date with Rose (like I had originally had wanted to do but changed my mind), there would have been plenty of primping. But he DEFINITELY would have used a blow dryer. lol. Oh and you'll see the beginning of the muscle next chapter and you'll hear more about what happened with Bobby, so sit tight, I'll have it out soon.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	8. Let Me Help You

**A/N: So here's the 8th part of this story. I think it's the longest yet. It's got a lot going for it, so I hope you all like it. Oh and Umi Pryde asked me what color war is... a basic summary of the devil activity that some people enjoy is this: it generally occurs in sleep-away summer camps but it has, in more recent times, cast a wider net on the world. The camp/school is split into different teams and each team has a color. Then these colors go to war in form of sports, team songs, cheers, team skits, team banners, team stomps, silent meals and so much more indescribable ridiculousness, simply to promote "spirit" and cause the clinically competitive to lose all sense of themselves and say things they don't even mean, "all in good fun". I hate it. It's too much noise, huge waste of time, huge waste of paper, paint, markers and the like. I hate how it makes people say things they would never say and pretend like it's all okay because they're just playing with the theme of color war. And even if everyone had good sportsmanship, which they don't, it would still be competitive and there would still be pressure (yeah, if you screw up a game, as I would do because I'm not so athletic, you get yelled at by your team mates if they suck, and usually they do).**

**Okay, that was my angry color war vent. I'm sorry to anyone who enjoys color war, but I really do hate it. But it's over now and I've worked out my drama (except with the idiot senior play director who thinks he can threaten me and yell at me in front of other people. He's going down). And I'm all slept up, so I'm not tired. Which is conducive to me writing more! YAY!**

**And on to the story after the depressing disclaimer:**

**Disclaimer: Not mine unless it is**

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**Chapter 7:**

The next morning when Rose and Jack woke up it wasn't because they were ready to. In fact, they were both as farther from ready to wake up than they ever thought they could be.

"Let me in to see him!" a voice insisted from outside the room.

"I'm sorry, sir, he's sleeping," a second voice replied, his voice slightly more muffled because he wasn't yelling like the first voice was.

"Jack?" Rose asked after wiping any remaining sleep out of her eyes and checking her watch to see they had only received five hours of sleep before they had been rudely awakened.

"That's my brother, Jerry," Jack said with a surprised look on his face. He wasn't expecting anyone except maybe Rachel to show up that day and he definitely didn't expect her to come over that early in the morning.

"Oh, yeah I forgot to mention that," Rachel began sheepishly. "The hospital called him when they brought you in last night. He's your emergency contact or something. But he lives in London, doesn't he?" Rose asked as she looked to Jack for confirmation. He nodded his head. "So he must have jumped on the first flight to get here so quickly," Rose reasoned as she checked her watch one more time and wondered if it was physically possible from someone to get from London to Detroit that quickly.

"Can you let him in?" Jack asked hopefully. Rose smiled at Jack, stood up to open the door and whispered a few choice words to the doctor. It was only after Jack heard the muffled footsteps of the doctor walking away that Jerry pushed his way past Rose and into the room with an expectant look on his face.

"Fuck, Jack, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" Jerry asked angrily as he stormed into the room, not bothering to take a good look at Jack before yelling at him.

"If you're just going to shout at him, maybe it'd be best if you left and came back when you're ready to have a civil conversation," Rose said with a steely tone as she pulled the door of the room closed behind her.

"Who the hell are you?" Jerry asked, the discontent still in his voice, but at a lesser extent. He had finally really looked at his little brother and realized that perhaps the girl who had spoken up was right, even though he didn't really want to admit it.

"She's a friend, Jer," Jack said with a deep sigh. He could tell he wasn't getting back to sleep anytime soon.

"Name's Rose Gilman," Rose told Jerry as she stuck out her hand in formal greeting. Jerry took the outstretched hand in his much bigger one and shook it firmly before letting go.

"Jeremiah Mercer," Jerry replied with a curt nod.

"Are you ready to behave?" Rose asked, not even caring that she was talking down to someone much bigger and probably much stronger than she was.

"Yeah," Jerry said as he rolled his eyes at the younger girl and turned back to his brother. "Explain," Jerry demanded. Jack was sure his brother would have been much harder on him if he didn't look, as he could imagine, so battered.

"I got jumped by a couple o' jerks on my way home last night," Jack said, shrugging a bit before wincing and giving up on the effort. Clearly that hadn't been his smartest move.

"You okay?" Rose asked with concern laced in her tone. Jack nodded sharply in response. That probably wasn't his smartest move either, but he wasn't about to wince again and cause Rose to fret over him even more.

"Is that all?" Jerry asked skeptically. "You better tell me the whole story now, Cracker Jack. I don't need any surprises on my vacation," Jerry warned.

"Vacation?" Jack asked, returning Jerry's question with one of his own.

"Yeah, I took a few weeks off to come home after I got that phone call from the hospital last night. Camille and the kids will be here tomorrow afternoon. Did you really think I would have stayed away when my baby brother was getting himself beat up?" Jerry asked rhetorically. The answer was clearly no.

"Thanks," Jack replied softly.

"I think I'm going to go get some tea or something while you boys talk. Do you two need anything?" Rose offered as she inched backwards to the door.

"No, we're good," Jerry replied for him and Jack before Rose slipped out the room and allowed the two brothers some time to catch up.

"You might wanna sit down, Jer," Jack said after watching his brother wearily, yet silently, for a few minutes. Jerry did as his younger brother asked and sat down in the chair that Rose had slept on the night before.

"I'm trying to get Bobby outta jail," Jack whispered after he realized that Jerry wasn't going to say a word until Jack explained what was going on.

"Damn it, Jack!" Jerry exclaimed as he jumped out of his seat and began pacing. "Why can't you just believe that Bobby's guilty and just leave it alone? You're going to get yourself killed trying to prove something that isn't even true!" Jerry shouted angrily.

"You really think Bobby killed those kids in cold blood like that?" Jack retorted weakly in disbelief.

"There was evidence, Jack. They found him guilty. Just because he said he didn't do it, doesn't mean he didn't," Jerry replied as he sat back down in the uncomfortable chair and glared at Jack.

"He was with me when they were killed," Jack whispered miserably as he closed his eyes, the events of that night rushing back to him.

_Flashback_

"_Hey, Cracker Jack, get me a beer while you're in the kitchen, would ya?" Bobby called after Jack as he shuffled into the kitchen, his bare feet losing heat as he walked across the cold tiles._

"_Why don't you get off your lazy ass and walk to the kitchen yourself?" Jack shouted back half heartedly as he opened the fridge and pulled out a six-pack of beer before rejoining his brother on the couch._

"_Because I have you to do it for me, Jackie," Bobby said with a smirk on his face as he grabbed a beer, popped open the tab and downed half the can in one swig._

"_Drink much?" Jack asked as he glanced from the television to his brother and back._

"_Gay much?" Bobby retorted. Jack just grimaced as he reached forward and took a beer for himself, ignoring Bobby's taunts for lack of any other reaction worth having._

_The pair sat there in silence for hours, watching bad movies and wrestling and drinking beer. Just another Friday night at the Mercer house, as Jerry would say. And when the cops came knocking on the door at about one in the morning, it still would have been just another night at the Mercer house, but things quickly changed._

"_Bobby Mercer home?" the officer at the door asked when Jack answered._

"_What's it to you?" Jack asked, his eyes narrowing in distaste._

"_Is he home?" a second officer asked in annoyance. There were two other men standing behind the first two officers and they looked to be more for muscle or protection than anything else._

"_Yeah, I'll go get him," Jack replied, confusion on his face the officers and their bodyguards shoved passed him._

"_Bobby!" Jack called into the house, unsure of what was going on or what he was supposed to do. In those cases, Jack always looked to Bobby. He usually had an answer._

"_Yeah Jack?" Bobby shouted back. Jack realized how stupid he was for doing that. It told the officers exactly where Bobby was located. All four men ran straight for the living room. The two bigger ones knocked Bobby down to the ground while one of the officers cuffed him._

"_What the fuck?" Bobby asked in annoyance. "I didn't do nothing," Bobby complained. "Well, not nothing that'd warrant assholes pressing my face to the ground," Bobby added frankly, as if he wasn't cuffed on the floor. Jack would always remember his sheer nonchalance in the face of danger._

"_Robert Mercer, you're under arrest for the murder of Jeffery Spitz and Kayla Born. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you," the officer who had cuffed Bobby intoned as he and one of the bigger men pulled him to his feet._

"_Who and who?" Bobby asked as he was dragged to the door, struggling as he went. "I didn't kill nobody. I woulda had to leave the house to do that and I've been with Jackie all night drinking booze and watchin' the tube," Bobby protested._

"_It's true, officer, Bobby's been home all night. I only got up a few times for the john and some beer, but outside that, I know he ain't left the house," Jack said with an agreeing nod._

"_We'll take your brother's alibi at the station and, Victor, you can stay here and talk to the kid," the officer who was leading Bobby out of the house said to the second officer._

"_Sure thing Gibbs," Victor replied with a nod. Victor hung back with Jack while Gibbs and the two bigger men led Bobby outside, into the cold, Detroit night. All Jack could think about was how cold his brother would be as he was only wearing a wife beater and sweatpants._

_End Flashback_

"Jack, I know Bobby told you to say that," Jerry replied softly, understandingly.

"No, he didn't!" Jack shouted angrily. He wanted to attack Jerry for even thinking that he was lying. Why couldn't be believe Bobby wasn't a killer? Jack normally would reason that it was because Jerry knew Bobby was, in fact, a killer, but right now he was pissed off. "I was with him, Jer. If you don't believe Bobby, then believe me. I ain't never lied to you."

"Yeah, but you lie to other people, man," Jerry said as shook his head at his little brother and got to his feet once more.

"Well I know I'm right. And if they would just believe that I was with him instead of saying that I'm a relative and a no good alibi witness, then Bobby wouldn't be in jail. You know the other evidence was weak. They just wanted an excuse to lock him up for the rest of his life," Jack said as he glared at his brother, disliking him more than ever, perhaps even more than when he, Angel and Bobby had thought Jerry had their mother killed.

"Okay, let's say you are right, which I ain't saying you are, man," Jerry warned. Jack simply nodded briefly. He wanted to hear what Jerry had to say. "What makes you think you messing with these mobsters is going to do any good?"

"They did it," Jack replied simply. Jerry shot him another look that told Jack that not only was Jerry not buying it, but his patience was running out as well. "I caught Bobby's lawyer a week ago and questioned him. He told me he was paid off to get Bobby convicted. Some guy paid him. I tracked down the guy, sorta," Jack finished lamely.

"Sorta?" Jerry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I made friends with Rose, the girl you just met, and her sister, Rachel. They work at the bar that went up when Johnny's burnt down. Their cousin runs it or something. I met the guy who paid the lawyer off when I went skating with Rachel. She's friends with him," Jack mumbled.

"Fuck, and you hang out with this girl?" Jerry asked as his eyes went wide.

"I didn't know she was bad news," Jack defended. "And I only went out with her once after that night because I needed to make sure she wasn't getting herself killed, for my peace of mind and for Rose's too," Jack explained.

"For Rose?" Jerry asked skeptically. "Just how attached are you to this girl?"

"I dunno," Jack whispered as he shifted. He grunted as his movements jarred his bruised shoulder. "The guy I met is Nate and he works for Sam Nickels."

"The guy who you think framed Bobby?" Jerry replied. Jack could tell he was letting the topic of Rose slide for now, but it would definitely come back up in later conversation.

"Yeah," Jack said softly, looking down at the blankets that covered his lanky frame. "I know he did," Jack added, this time looking Jerry in the eyes, his voice filled with confidence.

"Shit Jack," Jerry groaned as he began to pace again. He walked around the room for a good three or four minutes before coming to a stop at the foot of Jack's bed. Jack watched him, his blue-green eyes wide as Jerry set his hands on the metal bar at the end of the bed and leaned forward. "If you think Bobby's innocent, I believe you," Jerry concluded. Jack let out a deep sigh of relief.

"And if you want to hunt down Nickels and get Bobby outta jail, you're gonna need my help and help from as many other people who'll believe this crazy story," Jerry added.

"I know," Jack said. "If I didn't before, I know tonight."

"Good," Jerry replied with a sharp nod. "But we're doing this together, man. I don't need you going solo on me with anything. We're not Destiny's Child and you're not Beyonce, got it?" Jerry warned. Even though he had used such a casual pop culture analogy, Jack knew Jerry was beyond serious.

"Got it," Jack replied dutifully.

"Got what?" Rose asked as she walked into the room with two tall, steaming paper cups with tea bag tags hanging out of them.

"The game plan," Jack said with a shrug as he began to shimmy himself into a sitting position.

"I think not, Mercer," Rose reprimanded as she set the cups of tea on the bare bedside table and helped Jack sit up straight. "If you're going to get better, you're going to have let me help you," Rose told Jack wisely before picked up one of the cups of tea, fishing out the tea bag and holding it out to Jack, offering to help him drink it.

"I guess" Jack muttered as he let Rose help him drink the tea she had brought him without even being asked, leaving Jack to once again wonder just how readable he was or if it was just Rose.

"Lord," Jerry snorted, his anger dissipating as he saw his little brother being treated like the baby he had never seen him be, not even after the near-death shooting earlier that year.

"It's okay to be jealous," Rose said innocently as she turned to face Jerry briefly, showing him the smirk on her face which, in turn, caused Jack to smirk as he drank his tea slowly and cautiously.

"Yeah, yeah," Jerry grumbled for lack of a come back. "Well, I'm tired, I'm going back to the house to clean up the mess you probably made because Camille and the kids get in tomorrow. Then I'll crash. I'll see you two," Jerry said with a small smile before turning to leave the room.

Once the door was closed, it was time for Rose and Jack to catch up on the past half hour when Rose had been previously occupied. "So you filled him in?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, he's in," Jack replied shortly as Rose traded the half empty cup she was holding with the full one she had set aside earlier and sat down in the same chair she had slept in.

"In for what?" Rose pressed as she picked her feet up and set them on the metal frame of Jack's bed.

"Taking down Nickels," Jack said simply.

"That's what I thought," Rose confirmed as she leaned back in her seat and took a sip of her tea. "I made a few calls. We'll have all the help we'll need," Rose added casually.

"What?" Jack asked, his eyes widening once more.

"Did you really think getting tea took a half hour?" Rose asked skeptically. "I called a few friends because I didn't think any one else needed to get beat up. One of them is here already, the one I went out to dinner with last night, and the rest will be here in two days time at the most. Then we'll make a real plan and deal with this."

"No, Rose, you're not apart of this," Jack protested weakly. It was bad enough Jerry was involved, but Rose, Rose couldn't be. There was no rational reason Jack could come up with other than Jerry had been right in assuming Jack was attached to Rose.

"I have been since you first asked me who Sam Nickels was earlier this week, so stop trying to be chivalrous and deal with it," Rose shot back. "I'm in for the long haul, whether you like it or not. But don't worry, I can take care of myself and if I can't, well, I didn't call my friends for nothing, right?" Rose asked rhetorically.

"I still don't like it," Jack pouted.

"You're so cute when you're protective," Rose replied with a genuine smile on her face. "But I think if any of us have a reason to protective, it's me. I mean, look at yourself, sweets, you're a mess," Rose pointed out.

"I guess," Jack resigned with a tired sigh.

"But don't worry, the wounds will heal and the bruises with fade. Then we can kick ass or whatever it is that you scary Detroit guys do in the face of mobsters, murders and other assorted criminals," Rose assured wisely.

"Thanks," Jack said. "Thanks for the tea, for talking to the doctor to let Jerry in, for helping me when my arms feel like lead and for saving my ass in general," Jack elaborated.

"I know you would do the same for me," Rose replied sincerely. The weird part was that she was right; he would do the same for her.

"So can I finish my tea and go back to sleep? I'm really tired," Jack complained once the niceties were over.

"I live to serve," Rose said as she bowed her head in mock submission, took one more sip of her tea and then traded cups again so Jack could get something in his empty stomach before going back to sleep.

Once the paper cup was emptied and Jack was sleeping again, Rose sat, once again, on the uncomfortable plastic with her cup cradled between her hands, warming her already warm hands needlessly. "I don't know what we're doing, Jack Mercer, but I can't wait to find out," Rose whispered before draining her cup, placing it back on the table and settling back down to get some more sleep. She knew she should go home and sleep now that she knew Jack would be okay and his brother was in town to help, but she was so irrationally scared that the minute she left the room the bad guys would return to finish the job and Rose wasn't about to let that happen. Not on her watch.

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**A/N: That's all for now, folks. And I beg you all from the bottom of my heart, PLEASE review. I got two for the last chapter and both made me smile and improved my bad week.**

**Reviewer Replies (thank you both immensely):**

**Umi Pryde - Well, as you read above in my rant, that's color war. Hope you NEVER have to experience it. And I hope that's enough Bobby and muscle to tide you over for now!! I don't think I'm going to fit in an actual Bobby chapter, so I'm sorry. But he'll be out of jail soon enough, of course, and I'm sure he'll tell us all about how it sucked. :D**

**Maxiekat - Thanks so much!!**

**Okay, so yeah, again, please review. I should have more story out either sometime this week or next weekend. I did the math and there should be like 15 chapters to this story, maybe 16, because I still know where this is going and what's going to happen, big shock there. So I do have a direction, I just have to write it. Oh and I told the ending of the story to my friend and I've been told it's a good twist, so I hope you all agree when we get there.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	9. Watch the Dealer

**A/N: Nothing too important to say other than William is Jerry's son, the one Camille had not long after moving to England. I've mentioned that a few times in the past, I think. Hope no one's confused by that. Oh and this chapter is pretty much shameless filler. I'm sorry. But I needed it for the long run, you'll see.  
**

**Disclaimer: Not mine unless it is**

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**Chapter 8:**

"Ready to go home, Jackie?" Rose asked Sunday afternoon as she walked into Jack's hospital room, her arms laden with paperwork.

"Yes please," Jack replied with a hopeful look in his eyes as he sat up a bit straighter in his bed. He had been bored approximately 24 hours now and he couldn't wait to leave the dreadfully dull white hospital room. He had even changed out of the repulsive hospital gown and into some clothing Jerry had brought over on his way to pick up Camille, Daniela, Amelia and William up from the airport.

"Then all you gotta do is read through this stuff and sign on the dotted line," Rose said sweetly, causing Jack to frown. From what Jack could tell from where he was sitting on his bed, there was about a half hour of reading to do.

"Do I havta read all that?" Jack whined. He just wanted a home cooked meal and his bed. If he could have those two things, not to mention shower, he would be as good as new.

"No, I'm just messing with you. I already read it all and I'll just give you the cliff notes version of all the important stuff," Rose replied with a shrug.

"You read all of that?" Jack asked in disbelief as he eyed the stack of papers skeptically.

"Yeah, sure, when you were napping," Rose said as if it were a fiction novel she had been waiting to read for ages. "No big. I called Jerry to help me fill in the blanks about your health and stuff so all you have to do is check it over to make sure it's all right and sign it, then we can go." Rose handed Jack the pile and he thumbed through the pages absently while staring at Rose in disbelief.

"Why are you doing all this for me?" Jack as he took the pen Rose was offering him.

"Because we're friends and that's what friends do" Rose replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Truth be told, to her it might have been, but to Jack it wasn't quite so simple.

"Whatever you say," Jack said as he tore his attention from Rose to the pile of papers. He skimmed all the filled in blanks quickly to check that everything was up to date. After changing the status of smoker to non-smoker, a development that Jerry had not been informed of, Jack penned his signature where it was required and handed the pen and papers back to Rose.

"Brilliant," Rose said cheerfully. "I'll just bring these up to the front so they'll discharge you. Then I can watch you be wheeled to the exit in a very humiliating way by a male nurse I ran into this morning on my way in." Jack had made Rose go home and get some sleep the night before. She wasn't pleased, but Jerry had taken her place, so she couldn't complain too much without seeming too attached. Now it seemed she was getting her sweet revenge.

"A male nurse?" Jack groaned as Rose exited the room with a mischievous smile on her face that Jack couldn't see but sure as hell knew was there.

Jack sat on his bed twiddling his thumbs anxiously as he awaited Rose's return with the male nurse. He couldn't wait for the lingering pain in his muscles the leftover tenderness of the bruises to dissipate so he could get back to solving Bobby's case. He couldn't wait to get his Bobby's issues out of the way so that he could focus on the other issues he had, which mostly revolved around a certain brown haired, green eyed girl. She was so worth his attention, so worth the proper chase, that it was hard for him to keep focused. Jack sighed. He would have to keep the blinders on for a bit longer so he wouldn't get distracted. Now was not the time to let a little romance get in the way of getting Bobby out of jail.

"Okay, Jack, this is Collin, he'll be wheeling you out of the hospital on this fine afternoon," Rose said brightly as she introduced Jack to a tall, broad man who had wavy blond hair and kind brown eyes. The only problem Jack had with him was that he wasn't wearing a hospital uniform.

"I thought you said you found a male nurse to humiliate me with, "Jack asked skeptically.

"Collin is a male nurse, just not in this hospital," Rose replied with a wry smile on her face. "He's my friend I went out for pizza with the night you got jumped," Rose explained, seeing the confused smile on Jack's face. "Collin, this is Jack Mercer. Jack, this is Collin Loren, one of my few remaining friends from high school."

"Hey man, nice to meet you, Rosie's told me all about you," Collin said as a friendly smile broke out on his strong, angular face. Jack could easily see how the kind natured Collin was a good friend of Rose.

"Nice to meet you too," Jack replied. Sure, he felt a little intimidated as the bigger man helped him out of his uncomfortable bed and into the equally uncomfortable wheelchair. Jack wasn't sure if it was because Collin looked like he could crush him if he wanted to or if it was because he thought he could do it himself. Truth be told, it didn't matter because the intimidation was soon replaced with humiliation as Collin pushed him down the busy hallways.

"Okay, Coll, I think I'll push for a bit," Rose said as she noticed the red tinge in Jack's still yellow-green cheeks.

"You sure Rosie?" Collin asked as he stopped the wheelchair sharply, nearly sending Jack flying.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Rose replied as she tried to repress her laughter. It was clear that Collin was still a bit unaware of his own strength.

Collin stepped aside and seconds later Jack was moving and a slower, albeit less humiliating pace than before. Rose hummed an upbeat tune as she and Collin walked Jack out of the too-white hospital and out into the cold Detroit winter. Jack shivered a bit as Rose and Collin helped Jack out of the chair, leaving it for an intern to retrieve, and walked him to the big, black SUV that was parked right in front of the hospital.

"Nice car," Jack mumbled as he slipped into the backseat while Collin rode shotgun and Rose hopped into the driver's seat.

"Thanks," Rose replied as she pulled on her seatbelt before sticking the key into the ignition and starting the car.

"It's yours?" Jack asked in shock. He had thought it was Collin's.

"What, didn't expect me to have such a big car?" Rose asked as she glanced at Jack in the review mirror while easing off the break and maneuvering out of the hospital's driveway.

"No, I thought you'd have one of those cute Mini Coopers or something," Jack mumbled as he leaned back in his seat a bit.

"Well, you're right," Rose admitted with a shrug, her eyes on the road the whole time. "I did have a Mini Cooper. It was yellow with black stripes. This beast was my brother's," Rose began softly, as she always did when she talked about her deceased family members. "When my dad and brother died, my dad's car was totaled, but I still had my brother's and mine. I didn't need two cars and I was never attached to my car the way my brother was to his, so when push came to shove, I kept this one."

"He would have hated you if you had given his Xterra away," Collin added, reminiscing about her dead brother in a way Jack would never be able to.

"He would," Rose said with a sad smile on her face. "He always said my Mini Cooper was puny and I should grow a pair and get a real car. I told him that if I grew a pair, he would have a stepbrother instead of a stepsister. He only laughed and told me he wouldn't mind," Rose added with a small laugh. "God, he was such a bully."

"The best kind," Collin added with a wink that Jack could barely see. As much as he wanted to join in on this conversation, he thought it would be best to just lean further back into his seat and try to catch a bit more sleep before being jumped by his nieces.

* * *

When Jack next woke up, there was a new bruise forming on his forehead.

"Jesus fucking Christ, what the hell was that for?" Jack asked as he blinked his eyes a few times to clear his sleep-bogged eyes. The car had stopped short and his forehead had slammed into Rose's headrest.

"If you had buckled your seatbelt, that wouldn't have happened," Rose replied matter-of-factly as she turned in her seat to face Jack, a serious look on her face. Jack, however, could hear the fear in her voice. A car accident had stolen her father and stepbrother from her and it wasn't fair to Rose for him to put his life in jeopardy in a car like that, especially when she was driving.

"Sorry Rose," Jack apologized as he pushed himself up in his seat and buckled his seatbelt obediently, yet willingly.

"S'okay," Rose mumbled as a response as she turned back around in her seat and hit the gas again.

Minutes later, Rose parked in front of the Mercer house, the only place Jack had ever known as home. Rose whispered something to Collin that Jack couldn't hear and unlocked the doors, allowing the large man out of the car. But instead of Collin opening the door to the backseat and helping Jack out of the car, he walked to the house and knocked on the door. It was only when he was inside that Rose said anything.

"I'm sorry I freaked out on you back there," Rose apologized. "And, if I'm apologizing, for being a shitty person and I'm sorry Collin and I were talking about stuff you didn't understand the whole ride home that you got so bored and passed out," Rose added.

"Don't worry about it, Rose. I understand," Jack replied softly. "I don't blame you for any of it."

"You don't?" Rose asked as she turned around in her seat once more and looked at Jack, her eyes full of tears that had been building the entire car ride.

"No, none of it," Jack said meaningfully as he leaned forward a bit. He didn't and couldn't know how much guilt he was exonerating her of but none of that mattered. What mattered was that Rose drop the unneeded weight that the burdensome guilt put on her back.

"Thanks," Rose said as a silent tear fell down her cheek. Jack smiled at his new friend and pulled her into a tight hug, even though his arms still ached enough to make the action uncomfortable for him.

"This weekend's all about leaving guilt behind, huh?" Jack asked as he pulled away from Rose, allowing the girl some time to wipe her face clean with the back of her hand.

"Yep," Rose replied as she sniffed back the rest of her tears and allowed a small smile to creep onto her kind face.

"You ready to go in?" Jack questioned once he thought Rose looked up to the task.

"Okay," Rose said as she opened her car door and jumped out of the car. "I'm never going to get used to that jump," Rose commented as she opened Jack's door, helped him out of his seat and allowed him to lean on her as she led him to the house.

"That car is a little too big for you," Jack commented as he pulled his keys out of his coat pocket and opened the door for him and Rose.

"I know," Rose replied as two little blurs ran for Jack and slammed into his knees, unintentionally putting more weight than Rose could handle on her shoulders, causing her to fall back onto the doorframe. "Ow," Rose mumbled under the din that was Jack and the blur's laughter.

"Mia, Dani, ease off, you're hurting Rose," Jack admonished as the two little girls backed off obediently and allowed Jack and Rose to right themselves. "You okay?" Jack asked, a slight bit of concern in his unusually joyful and defenseless blue-green eyes.

"I'm fine," Rose said as a smile pulled at the corners of her lips and her annoyance of smacking into a doorpost disappeared faster then it had appeared. Just seeing Jack smile and hearing his deep laugh was enough to do that to a girl.

"Good," Jack said as he began walking, the two little girls pulling at his free hand and Rose still acting as his walking stick.

"I like when you're happy," Rose said simply as they entered the living room to find Jerry sitting next to the Camille, who had the newest Mercer cradled in her arms, and an assortment of people Jack did and didn't know, successfully taking away any and all possibilities for Jack to respond to Rose's comment.

"Welcome home, Jack," Jerry said as he got up and took his brother off of Rose's shoulder. Jack looked back at Rose briefly as Jerry helped him over to an armchair that had been purposely left empty for him. Rose smiled at him before turning and sitting on the arm of another chair that was occupied by the third and final female in the room.

"How are you, Jack?" Camille asked for the sake of conversation. Jack was Camille's favorite of Jerry's brother, but that wasn't saying much.

"I'm good, Camille, how are you?" Jack asked amicably as Amelia and Daniela climbed onto his lap and wrapped their arms around his neck.

"How are the boo-boos, Uncle Jack?" Amelia asked, interrupting the small talk their uncle and mother had been making.

"Yeah, Daddy said bad men hurt you and that's why you couldn't come the airport to pick us up," Daniela added.

Jack smiled at his nieces before replying. "The boo-boos are much better now that you girls are here," Jack said. He knew it was cliché, but they were his nieces. His nieces that actually liked him, no string attached. They had gotten to know each other well while Jack was recovering from the shooting in the hospital.

"Yay!" the girls cheered happily as they bounced up and down on Jack's lap, expressing their joy. They didn't know they were hurting Jack, but Jack wasn't going to be the one to tell them what they were unknowingly doing.

"Girls, why don't you come over here and let Jack meet Will," Camille said as she saw the repressed look of agony on Jack's face.

"Okay," the girls said in unison. They both kissed Jack on the cheek before jumping off his lap, taking residence by his long legs.

"Thanks," Jack said as he shot Camille a grateful smile. The woman smiled back before getting up and handing the infant she had been holding to Jack. "He's tiny," Jack said in amazement as he held the infant close to his chest.

"Babies usually are," Rose said with a smirk as she stood up and moved to sit on the arm of Jack's chair. "But you shouldn't hold him quite so tightly. He's not going anywhere," Rose scolded lightly while setting a hand on Jack's shoulder. Jack nodded, his eyes still on the baby, while he loosened his grip.

"Are we going to get to business anytime soon? I have things to do y'know," a tall, heavyset black man, one that Jack knew, commented.

"Yeah Evan, we'll get there," Jerry said as he stood up and motioned to Camille to take the kids into the next room. Once Camille, Daniela, Amelia and William were out of the room, Rose stood up and addressed the room.

"So we all know why we're here?" Rose asked seriously as her eyes flickered between the many different faces in the room.

"To find the bad guys and crush 'em?" the skinny brunette who was leaning against the wall said as he tilted his head towards Rose. Jack frowned a bit as he looked over at the man. He hadn't even seen him standing there.

"Yeah, Wes, that's pretty much the deal," Rose replied with a wry, yet satisfied smile on her face.

"And how are we going to do that?" the girl in the armchair opposite Jack asked. She didn't seem quite as nonchalant as the man against the wall.

"Just as Wes said, we crush 'em," Collin replied from where he was standing behind the girl, his large hands clenching the rough material of the chair she was sitting on.

"I didn't mean it like that, buddy," Wes said as he walked up to Collin and slapped his shoulder amicably. "There's going to be a plan of course, but the general idea is to crush 'em," he explained. Jack eyed him curiously once more. He didn't look like he could help much with the mission.

"God, I'm such a moron," Rose grumbled, thinking the look of curiosity on Jack's face was due to not knowing who all these people were. "Jack, these are my friends," Rose explained as she motioned to the female and two males flanking her. "That's Mackenzie Walsh and Wes Bryk. You already know Collin of course," Rose said, pointing to each in turn. "And you already know Evan and Johnny, but that's their friend Harley," Rose explained. Jack smiled a bit at his once-enemy, Evan, and his ex-bartender, Johnny.

"They're all gonna help us figure this out before you get yourself killed," Jerry explained as Johnny took Camille's place on the couch while Evan and Harley settled themselves up against the doorpost of the living room.

"Do we have a plan or are we just going to run in there with guns?" Jack asked, one eyebrow quirked in skepticism.

"Man, don't be like that," Jerry complained but Rose cut him off.

"We're going to continue with your plan, actually," Rose said simply. "We don't know how else to find Nickels, so tomorrow, I'm gonna go to work with Mac and Collin. When this ass leaves, Mac and Collin are gonna tail him. If he doesn't take them anywhere particularly interesting, they'll grab him and question him till he bleeds if need be," Rose explained. It sounded so damn simple to Jack when she explained it and he wished it really could be like that.

"Well, now that everyone knows each other and we all know the plan, can we disperse? Some of us have shit to do," Evan said in annoyance.

"Where you gotta be that's more important than here, man?" Jerry asked in annoyance.

"My daughter's ballet recital. If I'm late, I'm on the couch for a week," Evan grumbled unhappily, causing everyone in the room, even Jack, to break out into laughter, destroying the serious businesslike atmosphere in the room.

"Okay, okay, we're done here, you guys can go," Rose said, laughter still in her green eyes. Everyone mumbled their thanks and, one by one exited the house.

"How's Collin gonna get home?" Jack asked tiredly as he tilted his head back a bit, quite prepared to go to fall asleep right there and then.

"Mac," Rose replied with a shrug. "She, Wes and Collin are all staying at the same hotel."

"Mmhm," Jack mumbled as he allowed his eyes to close.

"Okay Jack, let's get you upstairs before you pass out and wake up tomorrow morning feeling worse than you did on Friday night," Rose informed Jack as she walked up beside him and helped him up. Rose motioned for Jerry to sit with her partially free left hand as she led Jack up the stairs. The staircase was too narrow for more than two people anyways.

"Thanks for all this," Jack said as he unintentionally leaned a bit more on Rose than he probably needed to.

"No problem, Jack," Rose replied. Once they made it to Jack's room, it only took a few minutes for Rose to help Jack strip to his t-shirt and boxers and then tuck him into bed.

"Wow, no one's tucked me into bed in years," Jack said with a tired, yet mischievous smile on his face.

"Glad to help," Rose replied with a wink. "Now sleep," Rose commanded, her playful tone still intact.

"Mmm, night Rosie," Jack muttered as he gingerly rolled onto his side and buried his still-bruised face into his pillow.

A hint of a smile played on Rose's face as she backed out of Jack's room. He was just so cute. Rose shook her head of her folly and bit her lower lip to chase the smile off her face. Detroit wasn't home. She knew where home was and she was going to it just as soon as Bobby Mercer was out of jail. Rose shut off Jack's lights before exiting the room and bounding down the steps.

"Hey," Jerry greeted as Rose walked to the front door to grab her things and go. The tall, lanky black man was leaning against the front door, waiting for her to return.

"Hi," Rose replied as she gathered her belongings, double-checking that everything was still there. Not that she didn't trust the Mercers, she did. She just didn't trust anyone else she might have run into along the way to the cozy house.

"How is he?" Jerry asked. Rose looked up from checking the contents of her purse and allowed the look of concentration on her face fade and turn into one of kindness.

"He's fine, sleeping for now," Rose explained. "The bruises and pain should fade soon and the cuts will go as well," Rose added, offering what little she knew about injuries to the report.

"Yeah, I know," Jerry replied. "What do you want with him?" Jerry asked with a tired sigh after leaving just enough time for Rose to go back to the task of checking her bag.

"Excuse me?" Rose asked. This time her bag dropped to her side and her eyes went wide in surprise.

"I know you like him and I know he likes you. What do you want with him?" Jerry asked, repeating his question again after expanding just enough for Rose to understand what he was asking.

"I… I dunno," Rose said with a shrug. "I might be leaving soon, so maybe nothing?" Rose added, answering Jerry's question with what Rose and her friends called a non-answer.

"Well if that's the case, you should stop leading him on," Jerry suggested. Well, it sounded like a suggestion, but Rose knew it was more of a command. "I like you, girl. I know Jack does too and I'm sure Bobby would like you too, but if you're just gonna leave, spare him the heartache. Jack doesn't get attached, but when he does, he does it for real," Jerry informed Rose.

Rose could do nothing but nod at the older man with a determined look on her face. She was going to study the cards on the table, examine the wager that accompanied those cards and try to anticipate the dealer's next move before deciding what she wanted to do. She did care for Jack, as Jerry so rightly pointed out, but there was more to it than just Jack's side of things. Jerry didn't know it but Jack did, at least a little bit.

"Thanks Jerry," Rose mumbled as Jerry opened the door for her to leave the house. "For everything." Rose knew she sounded just as Jack did moments earlier and wondered if somehow the youngest Mercer's manners were rubbing off on her

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**A/N: So that's it for now. I'm not sure how much I like it but I hope you guys did in any case and don't hate me too much for taking so long to finish it. I've been busy and now I'm sick. Hopefully the next bit will be out soon as my work winds down and my illness goes away. That and the next part is way more exciting than this one is. **

**So, quick reviewer responses:**

**JainaZekk621 and Ghostwriter - Thanks**

**Umi Pryde - a wife beater is slang. It's a white ribbed tank top. Well, it doesn't have to white, but in this case it is. I hope this chapter didn't dash any of you dreams, in any case. I know you wanted more of a reaction to Collin from Jack, but he really is just a friend and I guess Jack's just too busy with other things to doubt that. And he might be a little scared of Collin. As for Jack and Jerry talking, there won't be time, except maybe in the epilogue. Things are gonna start moving incredible fast in a bit. Oh and thanks for reviewing as ALWAYS! **

**Okay, quick plead for reviews: PLEASE REVIEWWWWW! I could actually still really use the fuzzies those guys bring. **

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	10. Nightmares

**Disclaimer: not mine unless it is**

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**Chapter 9:**

As Rose drove away from the Mercer house, her thoughts on Jack and the road, it dawned on her. She had given her house keys to Jess so he could make a spare, just in case of emergencies. Rose swore at her stupidity and changed her course of direction to the bar. She prayed Jess had left the keys where he said he would and no one had taken them. The last thing she wanted to do was go to Jess with her head hanging, asking to use the spare keys only hours after he had them made.

It only took a few minutes for Rose to get to the bar. Once she was there, she parked her car in her regular spot and looked around in confusion. Sundays were slow, especially as the day turned into night, yet, for some reason, there were at least half a dozen cars in the lot that Rose didn't recognize. Rose shrugged her shoulders, figuring that someone was having a get together, before hurrying to the back door.

Once she was inside, Rose ducked into Jess's office to find it unlocked and empty. Rose frowned as she turned and grabbed her keychain off the key hanger. They were exactly where Jess said they would be, even if he wasn't. The last shipment of glasses never made it to the bar and Jess had said he was going to spend the afternoon trying to figure it out.

Rose walked out into the bar to see if she could find Jess to check in and thank him. However, when she did find him, she didn't see fit to interrupt him. For whatever reason, he was sitting around one of the big round tables in the back with Rachel, the blond man who was connected to Sam Nickels and some other vaguely familiar people. Rose quickly decided that talking to her cousin could wait until the morning and turned to leave without bothering to make her presence known.

The vaguely familiar faces haunted her as she walked to her car, but once she slid inside and turned on the ignition, a burst of heat from the vents chased the images away. Rose smiled at the restored warmth. Detroit was so much colder that Boston, if that was even possible, and Rose couldn't wait to go home.

Or at least she thought she couldn't wait to go home. As she turned on the radio and tuned it until classic rock was flowing out of the speakers instead of the local popular music station Collin had put on earlier, her thoughts zeroed in on Jack Mercer. He was this solemn, reclusive, adorable artist that Rose couldn't seem to get past. She reasoned that perhaps it was because he was like a landmark, someone she couldn't overlook even if she tried, due to his height. He was taller than anyone she had ever met, and that included Collin.

Rose shook off such a silly thought. His height wasn't the reason Rose couldn't get him out of her head. She really wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't matter. Rose knew that her attachment to him wasn't a good thing, even if he returned the feelings.

She sighed as she put the car into park and eased out of her spot, her right hand clutching the steering wheel as her left rested on the car door, her fingers idly playing with her house keys. On her way home, Rose pondered putting her house key and car key on the same chain, but dismissed the idea. The car was leaving Michigan with her and the house wasn't. No matter how much of an obstacle Jack Mercer presented, Rose was going.

With a determined look on her face, Rose pulled into her driveway, put the car in park and hopped out, planning on watching whatever crap was on television for a few hours before hitting the hay.

As she walked towards the small house she was renting, Rose made sure to click the button on her key chain that would lock her car and prayed that tonight wouldn't be the night when the vandals came running down the street. She didn't have time to take the car to the shop this week. Not that she had time last week, the first time it had happened, but she had no choice. Her brother would never forgive her if she had let his baby sit with the busted taillight and graffiti-covered side. Not to mention the cops would have probably stopped her and given her a ticket she probably couldn't afford to pay.

After turning the house key in the lock and jimmying the door as the landlord had told her to do due to the old rusted hinges and lousy locksmith work, Rose gained entrance into her small, rundown residence. She quickly locked the door behind her and tossed her things onto the coat rack and matching hall table.

On her way to the kitchen, Rose kicked off her boots and took off her jewelry. Once she reached the kitchen, she picked up the phone with her free hand and checked the messages. There were two from her landlord pestering her about when she was leaving and one from Jess, asking her the same thing. Rose frowned in response to the annoying, ever troublesome question. Why did everyone care so much if she stayed? Couldn't they just wait to see what she would do?

Rose hung up the phone after clearing the voicemail and pulled out some microwavable popcorn from the cupboard. She shoved the flattened popcorn kernels into the microwave, pressed the proper buttons and turned to make herself some hot tea.

It only took a few minutes for the microwave to let out an unceremonious beep, signifying it had finished its job. Rose popped open the door of the appliance, ripped open the popcorn bag and poured the fluffy popcorn into a bowl. After making sure she had a good grip on her tea mug as well as the bowl, Rose made her way into the next room.

Once her popcorn and tea were sitting on the rickety old coffee table, Rose took a few moments to flick on the television and flip through the channels. She continued the monotonous work until she found one of the many Lord of the Rings playing on some station that probably played it too often. With a mild sense of satisfaction, Rose fell back on the moth eaten sofa that resided in the pre-furnished rental.

When her bowl was empty and mug was drained, Rose curled up on the couch and watched as extras with pointed ears fought with extras that… well… Rose wasn't quite sure what was done to them to make them look like that.

Rose yawned widely, her eyes fluttering shut as a blond haired elf, one of the main characters whose name was escaping her, bounded on the screen. She knew it was a bad idea to sleep on the couch, but it would only be for a few minutes. Then she would get up, wash her face, brush her teeth and go to bed with the intentions of cleaning up the mess she had made that night in the morning.

* * *

When Rose did finally wake up, it was hours later. She could tell from the fact that instead of extras fighting each other on the television screen, there was a large ship was breaking in half and sinking into the Atlantic Ocean. She had slept through half of Lord of the Rings and most of Titanic.

But it wasn't the sound of the boat breaking into two that woke Rose up. It was a nightmare. A rather nasty nightmare involving her sister, cousin, the man with the blond hair and the other people she had seen sitting around the large, round back table earlier that night. Rose struggled to remember her nightmare, knowing that somehow it was important. Well, in whatever capacity a nightmare could be important.

Rose sighed, finally giving up on figuring out the finer points of her nightmare. She pushed herself off the couch and turned off the television, plunging her into the darkness of the living room. Rose frowned at the darkness, not remembering that she had turned the lights off for the movie. She shrugged as she squinted until she could see the outlines of the objects around her and grabbed the bowl and mug she had used that night. She walked into the kitchen, guided by the light that streamed in through the windows from the street.

Once they were in the sink, Rose walked to the bathroom, stumbling over her abandoned boots as she walked in the dark. She turned on the bathroom light, quickly cleaned up and turned the light off once more. After feeling her way to her room, she collapsed into bed. She hadn't realized just how tired she was. Of course, Jack had sent her home that weekend to get some sleep, but she hadn't caught quite as much shut-eye as she allowed Jack to think she had. She just couldn't seem to keep her eyes closed while her newest friend kept residence in the hospital.

She was about to drift off for the night when she shot up in her bed, suddenly remembering her nightmare. Facts, instinct, guesswork, faces and dates all flew through her head, her eyes narrowing as she put everything together. She now knew where she had seen those people at the bar before. She now knew why her cousin was meeting with them. She now knew why Rachel was with them.

With her heart filling with fear, anger and a desire for justice, Rose jumped out of bed with the last dregs of energy she could muster and ran back to the kitchen. It was only after she had finished dialing the Mercer number that she remembered Jack was sleeping, but it didn't matter. She would tell Jerry and they would make a new plan in the morning.

Rose swore out loud, breaking her silence for the first time since she had left the Mercer house, as her call went into voicemail. She didn't want to leave them a message. This was too important for a message, but Rose didn't know what else to do. She had to get her discovery off her chest before she got into the car, drove all the way back to the Mercers' in her pajamas and woke all of them up.

"Hi, Jerry, Jack, whoever else checks this," Rose began breathlessly. She hadn't run anywhere but it sounded like she had just won a hundred-meter dash. "It's Rose. I'm calling because I need to tell you guys that we need to revise the plan. I figured it out and it starts with Rachel. She's-"

But Rose never got to finish that sentence. Just as she was about to say what Rose was, someone forcefully yanked the receiver out of her hand, ripping it out of the wall and causing the Mercers' voicemail to only pick up half of Rose's fearful shriek.

"I don't think so, bitch," Rose's attacker said while swinging her around so Rose could see the face of the person who had broken into her house.

"Oh my God," Rose said with wide eyes as she saw her attacker's face, a sliver of light from the street lamps outside illuminating it.

"God can't help you now, Rosie," the intruder said sinisterly before raising the hand that still clung to the receiver and hitting Rose on the temple, successfully knocking her out before she had a chance to scream again.

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**A/N: Dun dun dun. That's it for this part, folks. Stay tuned for more.**

**Reviewer Replies:**

**Jacksgirl793, JainaZekk621 and hogo-chan - thanks you guys! It means a lot to me that you review!**

**Umi Pryde - well, I fixed the mistakes from last chapter, so thanks for pointing them out. I hope this one's better. I even asked my friend-turned-beta to look it over for me because I figure it's best to leave our the mistakes now than revise the whole story later, like I desperately need to do for my other story (I just don't have the time). As for the driving, I know she doesn't have to and I almost didn't put it in (I took it out), but I wanted to put another action in that sentence and I'm taking driver's ed, so that was the first thing that popped into my head. It sounds fine without it, I guess. But I'm glad you're liking the story!**

**Well, that's all for now! Please review, it really makes me happy to hear from you guys! -- Oh, speaking of which, there's a cute little nuance in this story and I've even prodded it in this chapter. It'd be really great to see if anyone can figure it out. I'll give you one more hint -- it has to do with the budding romance in the story (don't worry, it's not indicative of anything, I just thought it was cute). Brownie points to whoever spots it. And my beta's not allowed to play. She already knows the answer.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	11. Do the Panic

**A/N: Okay, so no one got the cute nuance with Jack and Rose from last chapter... I guess I'll leave it open if anyone can figure it out. I'll tell at the end of the story if no one cares to guess it. And a BIG thank you to my beta. LOVE YOU GIRLY!  
**

**Disclaimer: not mine unless it is. Oh and the title of this chapter, "Do the Panic", is a Phantom Planet song. I couldn't help myself this time around.  
**

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**Chapter 10:**

When Jack woke up the next morning, the first thing he did after rubbing the sleep out of his eyes was check his clock. After glancing at the glowing red numbers on his old digital clock, Jack rolled out of bed. It was nearing 8am. He had slept for nearly 14 hours. Jack couldn't remember the last time he had slept that much.

Letting out another yawn, Jack shuffled to the bathroom to take a much-needed shower. He stood under the showerhead for half an hour, letting the hot water relax his muscles as he scrubbed himself clean. Hospitals scared Jack just much as they scared Rose, if not more. He hated the smells, the sounds, the white walls, and most of all, he hated the doctors. The nurses weren't so bad, but those doctors should go fuck themselves.

Jack sighed as he shut off the water and grabbed a towel to dry himself off with. He wanted to spend another hour in under the hot water but he knew Jerry would kill him for using up all the hot water so early in the day. After wrapping the now-damp towel around his waist, Jack stepped out of the shower and walked to his room, his wet hair hanging down in his eyes.

Once he was dressed, Jack slowly made his way down the stairs leaning heavily on the banister. He hated that it caused him so much pain to walk up and down the stairs, but, as Rose had told him, it would get better soon enough.

It took Jack a bit longer than he would have liked to make it to the kitchen. Once he finally got there, he quickly made himself the home cooked meal he had been waiting for. Once it was ready, Jack poured himself a glass of milk, thankful that Jerry had enough presence of mind to clean the glasses before Camille had a chance to see how Jack had neglected them. He smiled as he carried the meal to the small kitchen table, remembering how Rose had teased him the first time she had come over.

Rose. Jack wondered what she was doing as he ate his breakfast. He knew it wasn't good to daydream about her, but what else could he do? Since he's already given in to liking her, he might as well allow himself think about her just as long as it doesn't get in the way of getting Bobby out of jail.

It only took a few minutes of eating and dreaming for Jack to finish his breakfast. Once the dishes were in the sink, Jack idly passed by the phone in the hallway, his eyes glancing to see if there were any messages from the night before. When he saw the light on the machine flashing, he hit the playback button to hear a tinny version of Rose's voice. He had never heard her sound so frantic.

"_Hi, Jerry, Jack, whoever else checks this, It's Rose. I'm calling because I need to tell you guys that we need to revise the plan. I figured it out and it starts with Rachel. She's-"_

It was only Rose's terrifying cut-off shriek that caused Jack to have any visible reaction at all. His body was so full of fear and shock that it was if time was frozen, even though he knew that every second that passed was a second Rose was in trouble.

"Jerry!" Jack shouted as loud as he could as his eyes misted. Mercers didn't cry but Jack figured this was an exception. Rose could be in trouble. She could be hurt. Hell, she could be dead. "JERRY!" Jack roared as the last thought ran through his head. She could be _dead_. He would never forgive himself if she were dead.

"What is it Jack?" Jerry asked as he ran downstairs, dressed only in the pajama pants he had worn to bed and the robe he had thrown on when Jack had yelled, to see his brother standing over the answering machine with tears in his eyes.

Jack simply pressed the button the answering machine and allowed Rose's message to play one more time in response to Jerry's question. Jack winced as the strong sense of fear returned when he heard Rose's shriek. It didn't matter how many times he heard it, it would always strike fear in Jack's heart.

"Christ, man, call everyone and tell them to meet us at Rose's place," Jerry told Jack as he hurried back upstairs to get dressed and tell Camille what was going on.

Jack snapped out of his daze as he quickly picked up the phone and called Johnny, who would, in turn, call Evan and Harley. It was only when Jack put the phone back on the hook that he realized he had no idea what Mac, Wes or Collin's phone numbers were.

"Jack, c'mon," Jerry said as he came back downstairs and grabbed Jack's arm, dragging him out of the house.

"I don't know their numbers," Jack mumbled as he slid into the car next to Jerry. Jack slammed his door shut just as Jerry hit the gas and pulled out of the driveway.

"Who?" Jerry asked as he drove over the speed limit to get to Rose's house as quickly as possible.

"Mac, Wes and Collin," Jack replied as his eyes watched the street, hoping that maybe he would see Rose walking down it. He was hoping that the voicemail was just a dream or a trick and she was fine. Even if it had all been an elaborate prank done by Rose, Jack wouldn't be mad. He couldn't bring himself to be mad. Just knowing she wasn't in trouble would be enough to keep his anger at bay.

"I have Mac's," Jerry said as he reached into his pocket and retrieved his cell phone. Jack grabbed it from him and quickly dialed Mac's number.

"Mac, it's Jack, Rose is in big trouble. We're on our way to her house so get Wes and Collin and meet us there," Jack said quickly before hanging up the phone without giving Mac time to ask questions.

"Jack, don't worry, it'll be okay," Jerry said kindly as he pressed down on the gas pedal a bit harder. His fear was mounting as well.

"How do you even know where she lives?" Jack asked as Jerry slowed a bit to turn the corner, making Jack anxious. He didn't want to slow down. The longer it took to get to Rose's house, the more trouble she could be in. Not to mention that the mere thought of her body on the floor of her kitchen made Jack's eyes well up with tears.

"She told me, in case of emergencies," Jerry replied. "Listen Jack, when we get there, I need to you to stay with me, no matter what we find," Jerry added as he stopped in front of a small, rundown house that Jack assumed belonged to Rose.

"Right," Jack answered determinedly as he hopped out of the car and ran to Rose's house. He was prepared to knock down the old, paint chipped front door when he noticed that it had been left open a crack. Jack frowned as he pushed the door open. He had thought up all the scenarios of the terrible things he could find in Rose's house, but he never took into account that the attacker might still be there, holding Rose until someone else showed up.

Jack walked hesitantly into Rose's house with Jerry following him. The pair cautiously took stock of the house. If they hadn't been expecting something to be wrong, they would have never guessed it. Everything was where it was supposed to be. It was only when they walked into the kitchen that they saw something odd: the receiver of Rose's home phone lying innocently on the kitchen table with a note taped to it.

Jack lunged forward and grabbed the note off the receiver. He quickly scanned it, Jerry reading over his shoulder all the while, much to his annoyance. Even in times like these, Jack hated when people read over his shoulder.

_To whom it may concern,_

_I've kidnapped Rose. She's alive, in one piece, of course. Otherwise this wouldn't be a very successful trap. _

_Yes, this is a trap. You all know things you shouldn't, so I was thinking I would try killing you all the easy way before I had to bother doing it the hard way. You would think those men beating Jack up would be enough to deter you fools, but I guess not. _

_Well, come at your own risk,_

_S.N. _

At the bottom of the letter there was a date, time and place, all written in invitation form with the event title written in big, block letters. "Your Death", the title line boasted.

"Fuck, whoever wrote this is a complete nut case," Jerry exclaimed with wide eyes. Jack couldn't help but agree: a lunatic of the highest order. But that only instilled more fear in Jack. Rose was with this crazy person while he stood in her house, doing nothing. If Sam Nickels wasn't going to kill Rose, he was clearly going to do something else in the mean time. Something Jack didn't even want to think about.

"Jack, y'know, even though this guy says Rose is alive, he might be bluffing to get us to come. She could already be dead," Jerry said softly as he heard three sets of heavy footsteps enter the house and call for Jack.

"Stop it Jerry," Jack mumbled as he pushed past his brother and made his way into the hallway to find Mac, Wes and Collin. He hadn't thought of that and he definitely didn't want to start thinking about it. He had to have hope she was alive. And even if that son of a bitch had killed her, Jack would go just to take Nickels down, for Rose and for Bobby.

"Where is she?" Mac asked, getting straight to the point. Jack could hear the fear in his voice. He knew the feeling well.

"Nickels got her," Jack replied solemnly.

"Shit," Collin swore as Johnny, Evan and Harley joined them.

"What's up?" Evan asked.

"Nickels got Rose," Jerry answered for Jack as he entered the front hall, completing the group he and Rose had compiled except for Rose herself.

"Fuck," Harley mumbled, agreeing with Collin's sentiments.

"Nickels is completely out of his mind," Jerry said as he offered the newcomers the letter so they could catch up. Once they had all read the letter, Collin was the first to speak.

"We're going after her, right?" Collin asked. "Because Rosie would come in after us. We have to go get her."

"Hold up, big guy," Wes cut in. "I know we have to go after Rose, whether she's alive or not, like the letter says or otherwise, but we have to be smart about it. It's a trap, no matter what we do."

"I say we go tomorrow night," Mac piped up. "It says on the invite to come in two night's time. If we go tomorrow, we'll have the element of surprise."

"Why don't we just go tonight?" Jack asked angrily. "The longer Nickels has her, the greater the chance she'll be dead."

"Jack, we're not ready to go in there. We don't have a plan other than surprise them," Jerry began. "Besides, you're not ready to fight anyone just yet."

"Do you think I'm just going to sit around and get better while this nut bag has Rose?" Jack thundered. Jerry replied with silence. His brother had changed a lot in his absence, but he knew for sure that he wouldn't sit around and do nothing.

"No, Jack, Jerry's right, we need to wait," Wes mumbled. He was more of the brains of the operation than the brawn and an angry Jack was enough to scare anyone. "I need to get my stuff together and you guys need to get ammo. Going in there blind isn't smart. It's more than just a plan, it's the means to follow through with the plan."

"Fuck," Jack grumbled, echoing Harley's earlier sentiments as he quickly did the math in his head and made a decision. "Fine, we'll wait until tomorrow night."

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**A/N: That's all for now. The next chapter is in the works and maybe it'll be up by Sunday? Depends on the numbers of reviews I get... lol **

**Reviewer Response:**

**JainaZekk621 and Ghostwriter - thanks you guys!**

**Jacksgirl793 - haha thanks! I wouldn't abandon this story now!**

**Umi Pryde - Well, I wasn't watching LotR at the time, but they're always on TV, so I figured it would be likely that one of them would be on TV. Thanks for the edit help, as always. I always go back and fix it! This way I don't have to cringe at the story at a later date. Oh and I'm glad you like the Rose-Jack relationship. I always figured Jack would be very black and white - he either hates you or likes you and it's clear to him because he's been through enough shit to know the difference. Rose is always on the fence because she's scared of losing people, y'know? Oh well. I like the dynamic. AND I hope you liked all the reactions to the message (and the note). By the way, the next Bobby chapter will be the epilogue, which is like 4 chapters away, just a heads up. **

**So yeah, please review!**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	12. Hide and Seek

**A/N: Mmm, as per usual, I love my beta, my twin separate by and ocean and three years. And a huge shout out and chapter dedication to Maxiekat... she guessed it... Rose and Jack are my leads and they're also the leads in Titanic. But I promise Jack's not dying in this one. That would suck. **

**Disclaimer: not mine unless it is. And the song credit for the chapter title is "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap. It seems as though I'm falling into a habit... hope you all don't hate it!  
**

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**Chapter 11:**

"So everyone knows what they're supposed to do, right?" Wes asked as the large group huddled in the back of Evan's old beat-up van. It was a very tight fit for all 8 of them, but they weren't going to be staying there much longer.

"Yes sir, Wesley, sir," Mac teased, mocking her friend's stance of authority. Wes frowned in response.

"My name is Wes, Mackenzie. Besides, this is serious business, so no kidding around," Wes shot back in annoyance. He had that look of superiority on his face, the look that said he was smarter than her and he would use it against her. She knew it too. That was the reason Wes was staying behind in the van. He was more of the brains than the brawn in the motley crew Rose and Jerry had managed to compile.

"I know that, you great big bully. Rose is my best friend, you think I want to see her dead?" Mac retorted as her face turned grim. Everyone knew exactly how the young woman was feeling after her breakdown the day before. She might have been strong, but it was strictly a physical thing.

"Enough," Jack growled. Everyone turned to look at Jack, who was sitting against the back doors of the van. The look on his face was enough to silence all of them. His eyes almost had a feral look in them. He was out for blood before they even knew what Rose's fate was.

"Let's just go," Jerry said softly, breaking the tension Jack's anger had caused. Jack pushed open the back doors of the van, taking Jerry's last statement as the unleashing of the dogs. Jerry jumped out of the van after him, hoping to catch him for a short talk before anything went down.

"Jack, I know you want to get Rose, but you need to calm down, man," Jerry said as he pulled his brother aside, much to Jack's disdain, while the others hurried forward to do their designated jobs.

"Jer, I'm not going to calm down until I have Rose, alive, in my arms. And I swear to God, if she's dead, so help Sam Nickels because I will kill him," Jack told his brother, his narrowed blue-green eyes locked with Jerry's widened chocolate brown ones. Jack was acting like a murderer, which was scary in its own right. Jack Mercer had never been a killer, not in the least.

"Alright Jack, just don't get yourself shot, alright?" Jerry asked as he slapped Jack lightly on the back, successfully pushing him forward, once again giving him his desired dismissal. Not that any of his previous fear had been alleviated. If anything, Jerry was more worried about his brother than ever.

"I'll try," Jack mumbled as he ran forward, towards the building Nickels said he was keeping Rose in, with his right hand reaching for the gun he had shoved into his waistband, just in case. It hurt to twist his body like that, but Jack wasn't about to let a little lingering pain stop him from doing what he needed to do.

When Jack entered the old building, he could see Mac and Collin standing over one of the men Jack had met at the skating rink the week prior. "Dead?" Jack called after them, not paying them much attention as he took in his surroundings. While waiting for Mac and Collin's response, Jack discovered that there were two possible hallways to go down and Mac and Collin were standing in one of them.

"Nah, just down for the count. The big lug knows what he's doing when it comes to brawling," Mac said as she used the rope she had draped around her torso earlier that night to tie up the unconscious man and shove him into a nearby utility closet. Jack had noted earlier that Mac was the perfect combination of Collin and Wes. She was strong enough to knock a man out and she was smart enough to have the foresight to bring a length of rope, just in case it could come in handy.

"Good," Jack said darkly as he turned away from Mac and Collin and took off down the other hall. Mac and Collin had the one they were standing in covered. He trusted them to take care of Rose if they were the ones to find her. They cared about her just as much as he did, if not more.

Jack was about to turn right at the next split in the hall when Harley came running at Jack from that direction. "She ain't down here and it's a dead end," Harley told Jack once he was in hearing range. Jack just kept moving as a response.

"You see anyone?" Jack asked Harley once the older man had caught up with him.

"Nah," Harley replied as they reached another fork. Jack turned left while Harley turned right.

Jack slowed to a walking pace once he left Harley. With half a dozen doors on each side of the dimly lit corridor and one at the very end, Jack didn't want to miss anything or skip a single one. It took time for Jack to open them, especially the ones that were locked, but as the youngest it had always been his job to do the grunt work. As a result, locks weren't much of an obstacle as long as he had his lock picks on him, which he always did. They sat in his back pocket along with his Nicorette gum.

"Shit," Jack swore as he opened yet another door to come up empty handed. Jack sighed and jogged over to the last door at the end of the hallway. After turning the door knob and finding it locked, as three others down that hall had been, Jack pulled out his lock picks and went at it.

It took Jack much longer to open that last door than any other door on memory. This fact did nothing but make Jack more anxious and impatient to hear the lock give the telltale click that told him he had cracked it. He almost wanted to leave that door and go back down the hall to find Harley in hopes that he had been more successful, but something told him he would regret it if he did.

When the lock finally did give out, the rusted hinges and dented door made the use of additional force necessary for Jack to open the door, force that wasn't easy for Jack to muster due to his still-battered body. Without the thought of Rose being behind that door fueling him, he didn't think he would have been able to manage it. It was only when Jack got the door open and found a light switch that turned on a bare, flickering light bulb hanging from the ceiling that he was glad that he had gone to all that effort.

"Rose," Jack breathed. He stood frozen in the doorway, his eyes drawn to the back wall, which she had been unceremoniously chained to. Her bruised arms were lifted above her head by unnecessarily thick metal shackles while her jean-clad ankles were contained in a similar fashion. Her face was turned to the ground, her hair draped around her face like a dirty set of brown curtains that vaguely reminded Jack of one of the foster homes he had lived in before he had become a Mercer.

"Rose," Jack repeated, this time much louder as he managed to shake off the paralyzing fear that had seized him when he spotted her. "Rose, God, please tell me you're okay," Jack mumbled as he ran over to her and tentatively set his hand on her cheek, lifting her face to see that she wasn't conscious.

Jack's fingers flew to Rose's neck to check for her pulse. He was mid-prayer when he found it. It wasn't as strong as Jack would have liked it to be, but from the looks of it, Rose wasn't in the best condition. Jack shook his head angrily as he took out his lock picks once more and set to work on the chains that were holding Rose up. He made quick work of the chains on Rose's feet and made even quicker work of the chains of Rose's wrists, not wanting to allow Rose's shoulders the opportunity to dislocate themselves if they hadn't already had the chance.

"Jesus, Rose," Jack mumbled as cradled Rose's limp form in his arms and gently lowered her to the cold, hard, cement floor. With Rose's head in his lap, Jack tried his best to wake her.

"Rose," Jack pleaded, "Rosie, please wake up. I need to know you're okay and I won't know that until you wake up," Jack told her, hoping she could hear him. He knew he should pick her up and take her to the van. He knew the best thing to do was take her straight to the hospital. But he couldn't move. He couldn't get up without seeing her kind green eyes staring up at him.

Not knowing what else to do as tears of fear and worry welled up in his eyes, Jack lowered his face to Rose's and kissed her softly on the lips. He knew it was wrong. He knew he shouldn't kiss Rose without her consent, but he didn't know what else to do.

It was rather anti-climactic when Rose didn't wake from Jack's kiss. Of course, Jack had never seen Sleeping Beauty so he had no real expectations. Nor did he ever plan on telling Rose about what he had done. But she did wake up after a bit more shaking and pleading from Jack.

"Jack?" Rose asked weakly as her eyes fluttered open without the grace that Jack imagined they would, causing Jack to smile at his crush.

"Oh thank God," Jack said as he lifted her torso carefully and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

"Jack," Rose repeated, "Jack, w-we need… we need," Rose began frantically before Jack cut her off.

"Rose, it's okay, everything's going to be okay," Jack assured as he cradled Rose in his arms, preparing himself to get up and carry her out of the old building, to safety.

"J-Jack, no, trap," Rose tried again as she set a shaking hand on Jack's chest, pushing herself away from his body so that, perhaps, he would take her seriously.

That was when Jack finally looked into her over-bright green eyes. Of course, he had seen them when she had come to, but he hadn't really looked into them. If he had, he would have seen the sheer terror that had been there from the get-go. Jack frowned at this. He had been expecting relief and perhaps even joy. She was saved and they were getting out of there. Sam Nickels hadn't reared his ugly head yet, so it even seemed as though they were getting out unscathed.

"It's okay Rose, we weren't supposed to come till tomorrow. We've got it covered. Harley's got my back and I'm sure Evan and Johnny are with him now. We don't have to worry anymore. We'll get you to a hospital and we'll rest up before going after this son of a bitch again," Jack coaxed as he pulled himself to his feet, a much more difficult task than he imagined with the extra weight in his arms. His still-sore muscles were screaming in protest the entire time, but he it would be okay just as long as they got out of there and Rose was safe.

"No, J-Jack," Rose repeated, her teeth beginning to chatter. Jack couldn't tell if it was from fear or from cold. Either way he held her closer.

"What is it Rosie?" Jack asked softly, as if she were a child who had just woken up from a terrible nightmare.

"She's c-crazy," Rose mumbled, her eyes still filled with fear. Jack's frown deepened. How could she still be scared? Hadn't he assured her that everything would be fine? And who was this she Rose had just mentioned? Was Rose talking about one of those girls who he had played hockey with the week before? From what he had seen, Jack didn't think either one of them would be much trouble in a fight.

"Who, sweets?" Jack asked kindly, using a pet name Rose had used for him when he had been in a hospital. He hadn't even remembered she had called him that so affectionately until just that moment. He didn't even realize what she must have been feeling to call him that until just that moment either.

"Nickels," Rose spat out before hiding her face in Jack's chest, as if hiding from the truth.

"Nickels?" Jack replied in confusion. Nickels is a girl? Well that was a curve ball Jack didn't think anyone had been expecting.

"It's… Jack, N-Nickels is…" Rose began, her voice muffled by Jack's shirt.

"Rose, who is she?" Jack asked anxiously. He didn't want Rose to tell him just for her peace of mind. He wanted to know for his peace of mind as well. He wanted to know who he was going to hunt down in order to get Bobby out of jail.

"Rachel," Rose finally blurted as she finally found the courage to look up at Jack. Jack bit his lower lip as tears filled Rose's eyes, the overwhelming fear finally getting to her. As much as Jack wanted to make the tears go away, he was too busy letting the fact that Rachel, innocent, sweet, chatterbox Rachel, was a psychotic gangster sink in. Not to mention the psychotic gangster who had framed Bobby, beaten him to a pulp and kidnapped and terrorized Rose.

Jack's eyes widened. She was a psychotic gangster. He had let a psychotic gangster kiss him. Sure, it had been on the cheek, but he had still allowed her to get that close. And yet, Jack kept rolling the idea around his head. She was a psychotic gangster. A crazed woman who made all of these terrible things happen to him and the people he cared about. The idea didn't sink it's hooks into his head until Rose's whimper of pain pulled him back to the real world. It was true, Rose was proof enough. And, since it was true, it was obvious to Jack that the longer they stayed there, the more trouble they would be in.

"Fuck, we gotta get outta here," Jack swore as he resettled Rose in his arms and did a quick mental check to make sure his gun was still in his waist band where he could reach it. It didn't matter if they had the element of surprise. It didn't matter if they had a plan. If Rachel was that good of an actress, if she was that crazy, there was no telling what she had up her sleeve for them that night.

"Really, Jackie, why would you leave? The fun is just beginning," a voice, said from the behind him. Jack swung around, Rose still held close to his chest, to see Rachel standing between them and the way out.

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**A/N: Scary, no? **

**Reviewer Replies:**

**Ghostwriter and JainaZekk621 - Thank you guys! **

**Maxiekat - Thanks so much!! And yeah, you're right. I was hoping someone would get it!**

**Umi Pryde - Nickels/Rachel, as I've revealed, is insane. Why do you think she knocked Rose out with a phone and cleaned up after herself? And that's why the brothers didn't look for blood. They knew they wouldn't find any. Also, I guess I never thought to put in more of a reaction from Collin, Wes and Mac. I tried to make up for it this chapter at the beginning a little. As for the brother's not being armed, Jerry was. I didn't write it because the chapter was mostly from Jack's side and I figured he would have been too freaked out to notice it, so I didn't put it in. But Jerry's the smart one, so he'd be ready, even if Jack wasn't. **

**So PLEASE review? That'd make me really happy.**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	13. Mercy

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine unless it is. Chapter title is "Mercy" by Duffy... or OneRepublic. I like both songs, so it's up to you.  
**

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**Chapter 12:**

"Rachel," Jack growled as Rose whimpered once more and shifted herself even closer to Jack's body, if it was possible. It was almost as if she was trying to melt into Jack, just so she wouldn't have to go up against Rachel. Jack only wished he could give Rose what she wanted.

"No, Jack, not Rachel," Rachel replied with a looked that seemed so foreign, yet so natural on her round face. "My name is Sam Nickels." Almost as if on queue, three men, all of them familiar to Jack due to his afternoon at the skating rink, walked into the room. Jack's eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched. The one thought running through his head as he set Rose on the floor and pushed her behind him was that he was most likely going to have to fight his way out and the odds weren't very good.

"I don't care what your name is, just let us go," Jack told Rachel as he felt Rose sink to the floor behind him, her arms clutching his right leg tightly to support herself. It wasn't a request. Jack wasn't going to bargain or beg for their safe departure. Of course, that was exactly what Rachel wanted and she probably wasn't going to let them go until Jack was on his knees and pleading for freedom.

"I'd rather not," Rachel replied with bloodlust in her eyes. Jack now knew they were fucked. He had been wrong. She didn't want him to plead. She didn't want to him to anything but let her kill him and Rose, probably after a lot of pain, tears and suffering. Most likely, she wanted to torture Jack by slowly killing Rose, or vice versa. It depended on which of the unlikely couple Jack and Rose made that Rachel hated most. Or wanted to screw around with most.

"Y'know, Jackie, it didn't have to be like this," Rachel informed Jack casually as she began to circle him, the predatory look still in her eyes. "I liked you. If you had only picked me," Rachel said wistfully before abruptly snapping back to attention, acting just as crazy as Jack knew she was.

"But instead you picked my stupid sister, my stupid spoiled sister daddy took to live with him when he left his family behind," Rachel continued with a nasty sneer on her face. "That bitch gets everything that I deserve. I mean, what's so good about her? Why did dad take her when he left our mother, why not me? Why does she get the perfect life when I'm stuck living in a small, crappy apartment, trying to ignore my mother and her exploits?"

As Rachel went on about her shitty life, Jack felt a twinge of pity for her. She had gone through so much of what he had gone through and he felt bad for her because he knew how much it sucked. Even though he didn't condone her current behavior, Jack figured he could still feel bad. But, more than anything, Jack was scared. If Evelyn hadn't saved him, he could have ended out a raving lunatic like Rachel was. He could have been going around, killing people and having other people thrown in jail, for reasons that were still unclear, reasons that Jack needed to know, whether Rachel was going to kill him or not.

"Why?" Jack asked, interrupting Rachel's rant, after turning to check on Rose for a brief moment. She was still shaking from the pain and fear, which Jack had felt due to her hold on his leg, but she was conscious. As long as she was conscious, they still had a chance.

"What?" Rachel spluttered. She was outraged that Jack had cut her off as she went on about how her mother would let men rape her while she stood on the side watching until Rachel got smart enough to not come home. Or at least, not come home until her mother was passed out for the night. For someone who was so traumatized, she seemed a bit too open with her past for Jack's comfort.

"Why did you frame Bobby? I didn't know you or Rose back then. Why did you take Bobby from me?" Jack asked. So many things didn't make sense to him where Rachel was concerned, but this was the most important. It was the one thing that had been plaguing Jack non-stop ever since Bobby had been arrested that night all those months ago.

"Your brother," Rachel spat, "was a jackass to me. He didn't even know me but he started in with me after I accidentally scratched the paint job on his car anyways. Son of a bitch went all out on me, nearly put a dent in my car when he slammed his fist down on the hood."

Jack's eyes went wide as Rachel continued to complain about Bobby's unnecessary aggression. If he weren't in the midst of a flashback, he would have noted how even though she had dropped her innocent act she couldn't seem to stop rambling.

_Flashback_

"_I'm going back to New York and you can't stop me!" Jack exclaimed angrily, shaking the spatula he was holding at his brother threateningly. _

"_Jackie, you still ain't walking straight and you still get tired fast. You ain't ready to go anywhere," Bobby said, shaking his head at his brother's folly. _

"_I'm tellin' ya, Bobby, I'm ready," Jack replied as he slammed the spatula on the kitchen counter and turned down temperature of the oven so the leftovers he was heating up wouldn't burn. _

"_You're just going back so they don't replace you in that fairy band of yours," Bobby shot back. _

"_There's nothin' wrong with my band, you ass," Jack yelled. "And so what if that's why I'm going back so soon? I like my band and that's where I wanna be," Jack continued, this time his voice a bit more demure due to the fact that Bobby was right. Goddamn, Bobby was always right. _

"_What about your job?" Bobby asked with a raised eyebrow. And Goddamn his stupid eyebrow. _

"_I'll leave it," Jack replied simply. "When did I even say I was going to stay?" Jack asked rhetorically. He never said he would. In fact, it was a known fact that he would be leaving no matter how much he truly did enjoy reading through manuscripts of unfinished books. "Why would I even want to stay?" Jack added, his eyes narrowed. _

"_Because this is your fucking home, Jackie. Your family is here, not in New York. Why are you going back to that band when you know it's shit. You'll be back in a year, jobless and pissy. Just skip that and stay," Bobby growled. _

_Jack closed his eyes briefly. He knew the rule about Bobby always being right and he knew this was probably not an exception, but if he had ever wanted an exception it was this. He didn't want his band to fold. He didn't want to lose the one thing he had finally managed to accomplish on his own, without the help of anyone else. His band was the one of the few things that hadn't been given to him by his family in one way or another. And he knew he was probably running away by going back to that band, but if running away was wrong, he didn't want to be right. _

"_Fuck you, Bobby," Jack said calmly as he opened his eyes and glared at Bobby. "Why can't you just fucking believe in me for five minutes? Why can't you just tell me that I can do whatever the hell I want? That's what a good brother would do." Jack knew he shouldn't have said that, but he also knew that Bobby knew he shouldn't have insulted his band. _

"_Y'know what, Fairy?" Bobby began. Jack couldn't read his tone or his face. "Do whatever the hell you want," Bobby continued, echoing Jack's desired sentiments. "I don't fucking care. You want your band? Go. I ain't stoppin' ya, but don't come crawling back here when it sucks and you finally realize it." With that, Bobby stormed out of the kitchen. _

_Jack winced as he heard Bobby grab his coat off the coat rack with such force that the damn thing began to teeter unsteadily until it fell over with a loud crash, a loud crash that was only made louder by Bobby slamming the front door behind him. _

"_Fuck," Jack mumbled as he yanked open the oven door and pulled out his meal, burning his thumb along the way. "Fuck," Jack cursed again as he dropped the leftovers unceremoniously on the counter and turned around so he could stick his throbbing finger under the cold water the kitchen sink so graciously provided. _

_It was only when his thumb had gone numb that Jack felt the heat behind him, causing him to curse again. He whipped around again, slammed the oven door shut and turned of the gas. "Goddamn you, Bobby," Jack finally said out loud. _

_After putting the leftovers on a plate and grabbing a can of beer from the refrigerator, Jack hobbled into the living room. Of course Bobby was right. His leg was still sore and his shoulder let out a stab of pain whenever he tried to play guitar, but Jack was scared of what would happen once he didn't have his band anymore. _

_Hours later, after enough time had passed for Jack to thoroughly mull over everything that happened that afternoon, the door opened and shut loudly, causing Jack to bite his lower lip. If Bobby was still mad about their fight that morning, even after all the time that had passed, Jack knew the argument was far from over. Not that it matter. Jack knew Bobby was right. God knew he wasn't ready to admit it, but Bobby would win this one in the end. Jack had just been hoping that the argument would be swept under the rug and no one would say anything when he didn't leave the next morning, or when his band mates called to tell him that they were giving him the boot. Bobby was good at gloating, so good it made Jack sick to his stomach. _

"_Stupid bitch, screwed up my brand new paint job and had the fucking balls to start with me," Jack heard Bobby grumbled as he stalked into the kitchen. Jack let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He had gotten lucky, Bobby wasn't mad at him anymore, which meant the fight would most definitely disappear and there would be no gloating in Jack's near future. Or well, at least not gloating caused by the previous disagreement. _

_End Flashback_

"Y-you killed those kids and sent Bobby away because he yelled at you?" Jack asked in disbelief as his gaze flickered from Rachel to the scar he had on his thumb from the burn he had acquired that day and back to Rachel again. It all seemed too surreal. Who the fuck did that?

"No," Rachel said in annoyance as she grimaced at Jack. He had interrupted her again. "I killed those kids because they'd been stealing money from me for weeks. They were a pair of amateurs. Thought they were invincible because they got away with it the first few times. Then they slipped up. I was gonna kill 'em anyways, but I figured framing your brother would be more fun than committing my usual perfect murder."

"R-Rach," Rose whimpered from behind Jack. Jack couldn't see her, but if he could he would have shot her a look, pleading her to stop. What the hell was she doing? Rachel wasn't going to listen to her, no way in hell. "Stop it, please, Rach, just stop it." Jack could tell from the tightened death grip on his leg that Rose was using all her strength to plead to her sister.

"I thought I told you to call me Sam!" Rachel barked, ignoring Rose's plea. Just as Jack had thought, Rachel would never listen to Rose.

"How'd you do it?" Jack asked as he felt one of Rose's hands shift to his lower back. She had finally noticed the gun sticking out of his waistband. Jack nearly let out an audible sigh. He had been stalling waiting for Rose to find it. At least now he knew that even if they had to fight, Rose had some way to defend herself. Jack inwardly thanked God that even though he was pretty sure Rachel knew he was stalling, she wasn't going to pass up the evil villain rant. And that was exactly what Wes had been counting on when he had attached the miniscule recording device to the inside of Jack's shirt.

"Frame your brother?" Rachel asked as excitement flickered on her face, taking the place of her fury faster than Jack thought possible. He had seen it happen a few times since Rachel had walked into the room, but it still astounded him each time. "Well, it was really easy actually," Rachel began simply.

"After you two went to bed the night after my altercation with your brother, I had Kimmie sneak into your house and steal one of your brother's guns, one that had his finger prints all over it. She's the smallest and the quietest, so I figured she could get the job done and she did. The next night, I took the gun, shot the kids and then dumped it in the dumpster down the block.

"I had Wallace wait down the block. When the shooting went off, he called the cops and waited until they showed up. He told them that he was walking home when he heard the shots and came running. He said he'd seen a guy leave the house and dump a gun into a dumpster before running off. After giving an exact description of Bobby to the cops and identifying him in a line up, it was over for your badass older brother," Rachel finished with a triumphant look on her face.

"Fuck," Jack whispered. Even though he had been trying to make a plan, he was still listening. Every word that came out of Rachel's mouth made sense. Bobby had even yelled at him the morning before his arrest, asking him where his gun was. Jack had just thought his brother had misplaced it, not that that was an action Bobby was likely to be guilty of committing. Just like it didn't make any sense that Bobby would kill those kids over a petty disagreement, like the cops thought he had. Sure, Bobby fought, stole, cheated and so much more, but he never murdered unless he was under attack or someone he loved had been murdered first.

"So, do you see why I can't let you out of here?" Rachel asked amicably. "You know too much. Even if I hadn't told you, I'm sure you would have figured it out. You were well on your way to it. Besides, I couldn't let you go after Nate. He's my favorite," Rachel added as she walked casually over to the blond man with the ponytail and slipped an arm around his waist before rising to her tiptoes and nibbling on his earlobe.

"And here I was thinking you liked me," Jack replied, praying she couldn't hear the nervous tone in his voice. He didn't care if she liked him. He really needed a way out.

"Oh sweetheart, exclusivity doesn't suit me," Rachel cooed, almost lovingly, causing Jack to blanch inwardly. It was revolting. She was revolting. Everything about her made his stomach churn. It was evident to Jack why Rose hated her sister so much, and she didn't even know Rachel was a mob boss.

"So what now?" Jack asked. He didn't need Rachel to fill in the rest of the blanks for him. Now that he knew who she was and why she did what she did to Bobby, the puzzle pieces seemed to fit together seamlessly. She had done everything she did to keep Jack unawares of who she was. She played the innocent bystander every time. Even if someone had hypothesized that Rachel was Sam Nickels, Jack would have never believed it.

"I'm still debating which of you to kill first," Rachel began with a calculating look on her face. She looked like she was trying to remember what she had for dinner the night before, not the order of a hit list. "I could take you first and watch my perfect sister suffer as one of the last people she cares about dies, but I am rather eager to torture dear Rosie a little more…" Rachel trailed off, weighing her options. Jack kept trying to think of a way out. When he couldn't, he slowly slipped one hand behind his back and motioned for Rose to take the gun and let go of him. Once he was sure Rose was ready, Jack spoke again.

"What if we just fought," Jack offered, lunging forward before Rachel had a chance to respond. Jack had Rachel pinned to the ground for a few brief moments before her men realized what was happening. Jack felt one of them grab his shirt when a deafening bang filled the room.

Jack didn't have to look up to know Rose had shot the guy who had been reaching for him. Instead, he punched Rachel in the temple, knocking her out, if only for a few minutes.

After jumping to his feet, Jack saw that, somewhere during the few minutes the fight had been taking place, Harley and Johnny had finally caught up and were currently sparring with the remaining men. Jack tore his gaze from his companions and turned his attention to locating Rose once more.

She was sitting on the floor, her fearful eyes wide and glued the gun she was still holding. Jack ran over to her, pulled the gun from her limp hands and shoved it back in his waistband before picking Rose up again and cradling her in his arms.

"It's gonna be all right, Rosie, don't worry," Jack assured her as he held her close. He understood her fear. She had shot someone, perhaps even killed him. It didn't matter how evil he was, some people just weren't cut out to hold gun, not to mention use them, and Rose was one of them.

"I… I killed him," Rose mumbled as Jack carried her out into the hallway, away from the last two brawls that were taking place in the room she had been kept prisoner.

"Shh, it's okay Rosie," Jack whispered. As he carried her down the hall, his pace increasing with every moment that passed, he continued to whisper what he hoped were soothing words to the damaged girl in his arms. His only hope for her was that she wouldn't become as accustomed to holding a gun the way he had.

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**A/N: Sorry that took me so long. I had issue. My beta will attest. This chapter is for her because of her ability to solve my issues so effortlessly. Love you girlie!! **

**Reviewer Replies:**

**Ghostwriter and JainaZekk621 - Thanks you guys!**

**Maxiekate - Thanks! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks it makes sense. lol. **

**Umi Pryde - No problem!! Thanks for the review and I hope you liked the flashback. I saw an opportunity for a Bobby moment and I thought of you!! **

**As for the rest of you... PLEASE REVIEW!! I promise, reviews do make me want to work harder to put up chapters and this story's almost done! Not to mention that somehow I compressed two chapters (because I changed the plot a bit) and it's really only three more until the story's finished. Whoops. :D**

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	14. The Takedown

**Disclaimer: not mine unless it is. Chapter title is "The Takedown" by Yellowcard... a tribute to one of my favorite bands that is now taking a break (like The Starting Line... :sob:)**

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**Chapter 13:**

"We gotta get outta here," Johnny called after Jack. He and Harley had finally caught up which could only mean they were safe for the moment. The only sounds to be heard were their footsteps on the floor and the creaking of the old warehouse.

Jack didn't bother wasting his breath to respond to such an obvious statement. More than anything else, he knew they had to get out of there before Rachel had a chance to regroup and come after them. Well, either that or before the building collapsed on them. Now that Jack had retrieved Rose, he could tell just how structurally unsound the place was.

When the quartet made it to the front hall, they saw Evan, Collin, Mac and Jerry waiting for them in the dimly lit foyer. "Oh God, Rose," Mac cried as Jack ran up to them, his breath coming out in shot gasps at this point. He swore to himself that the minute he knew Rose was safe that he would go to sleep and stay that way until his body no longer ached.

"Is she okay?" Collin asked worriedly as Mac fretted over Rose's shaking form.

Feeling a little claustrophobic, Jack spoke more harshly than he meant to. "What do you think?" Jack asked in annoyance.

"Jack, c'mon, relax, man. It's over," Jerry said softly as he set a hand on his brother's shoulder comfortingly. "We're gonna get outta here, take her to a hospital and deal with Nickels from the outside, where it's safe."

"Oh shit," Jack mumbled. "We really gotta get outta here," Jack said, this time a bit louder as he remembered exactly who Nickels was and just how crazy she was.

"What?" Collin asked in confusion. "You saw Nickels?"

"We've all seen Nickels," Jack said gravely. "It's Rachel."

"Rachel?" Mac asked in shock.

"Wait, that girl you tackled is Nickels?" Harley blanched. Jack would have laughed at his expression if it weren't for the severity of the moment.

"Yes," Jack confirmed, "And we should get out of here before she has the chance to wake up and get angry," he added as he shook Jerry's hand off his shoulder, urging his brother to lead the way out.

And they would have all made it out relatively unscathed if it weren't for the loud cracking sound that reminded Jack of a gun going off. In reaction, Jack pulled back and tucked himself up against the wall, curling his chest and head over Rose's body in an attempt to keep her safe.

Once Jack had recollected himself, he straightened out to see that he had been right to worry about the age and condition of the building Rachel had chosen as her headquarters. Between him and the exit now lay a long beam of wood that was roughly as tall as he was.

"Jack?" he heard Jerry's muffled voice call. "Jack, are you okay?" Jerry shouted.

"We're fine," Jack yelled back, careful not to inhale any of the debris that was floating in the previously clear air.

"Listen, can you help us try to move this?" Jerry asked. "Mac's already calling 911, but-" Jerry began but Jack cut him off. He knew what his brother was about to mention and agreed with him wholeheartedly.

"Yeah, gimme a second," Jack replied as he stepped back a few feet and set Rose on the floor. "You gonna be okay here?" Jack asked as he propped her up against the wall.

"I think," Rose choked out as Jack gently places both his hands on either side of her face.

"It's going to be all right, I promise, we're going to get out," Jack assured softly as he brushed Rose's hair off her face with his calloused fingers, Rose leaning into his touch, her green eyes hidden behind closed eyelids.

"I trust you," Rose replied simply as she opened her eyes to meet Jack's. In response, Jack kissed Rose's forehead, his lips lingering a bit longer than absolutely necessary, before getting to his feet to try and figure out a way to get past the newest obstacle that had presented itself.

"Jack, we need you to move anything that might be in the way of the beam," Jack heard Mac call. Jack sighed and took in the situation in front of him. There were a couple of large pieces of plaster that had fallen from the ceiling along with the beam and Jack got straight to work, moving them out of the way.

"Start pushing from the left," Jack shouted breathlessly after he had moved a few of the larger, more obtrusive pieces of plaster out of the way. He had worked as quickly as he could, despite his aching joints and his tired arms. He only hoped it would be enough, he wasn't sure how much more abuse his body could take.

The beam of wood groaned as Jerry, Mac, Collin, Johnny, Harley and Evan began exerting force on it. Jack prayed it would budge. He glanced of his shoulder to check on Rose, as he had been doing every so often as he worked, to see her head was tilted to the side, resting on her own shoulder. Jack bit his lower lip in worry before going back to the task at hand. The sooner the beam moved, the sooner he could get Rose to the hospital, the sooner he would get Bobby out of jail. And then, then he could sleep forever.

"It's moving!" Mac exclaimed as the beam shifted, if only the slightest bit. Jack probably wouldn't have noticed it if not for the deafening grinding noise that ensued due to the movement.

Jack jogged over to the edge of the beam to attempt to help. He ran his hands along the small bit of the side of the beam that was showing in order to find a handhold so he could pull. Once he found one, he gripped it tightly and leaned backwards, throwing all his weight into it. Jack nearly stumbled backwards when the beam gave out again and shifted just a bit more.

"Fuck," Jack swore as he took his hands off the beam and glanced down at them. There were at least a dozen of splinters in each of his hands and he was bleeding just enough to make it impossible for him to be of any more help in the effort to create an exit.

"What happened Jack?" Jerry asked in concern. Jack hadn't even realized he had cursed loud enough for his brother to hear.

"I tried to help," Jack confessed sheepishly before taking a few deep breaths to make sure his tolerance for blood and pain would be able to handle the sight of his own hands.

"Blood?" Jerry pressed. Jack sighed in annoyance as he flexed his hands, the splinters cutting into his palms, making him wince in pain and disgust.

"Isn't there always?" Jack asked rhetorically as he quickly pulled off his jacket and tore off the short sleeves of his shirt so he could use them as make shift tourniquets. After bandaging up his hands, Jack made another attempt to help, but his hands were aching too much for him to grip the beam tightly enough. After letting out a longer string of curses, he gave up and stepped back so he could sit down and watch the beam move, exhaustion clouding his brain.

It was only when Rose emitted a strangled yell moments later that Jack jumped to his feet, the shroud of fatigue disappearing as he did so. In a panic, he spun around, almost losing his footing in the process, especially when he saw what had caused Rose to shout as she did.

"Rose," Jack gasped as he saw the predicament he had let her get into. If only he had sat down with her or had turned to check on her one more time. "Don't hurt her," Jack begged as he saw the silver gun pressed up against Rose's temple.

"Why shouldn't I?" Rachel asked. "You hurt me, why shouldn't I hurt her?" Rachel asked as she tightened her grip on Rose's waist so the battered girl wouldn't fall over. Jack couldn't even begin to fathom the muscles Rachel must have to be doing something like that.

"Ra-Sam, enough," Jack said, catching himself in the nick of time, fearful that Rachel would become trigger happy if the wrong name was said.

"Enough what? I don't think it's enough," Rachel growled angrily. "And let me tell you something, Jack, it won't be enough until I'm done killing both of you."

"How the fuck are you gonna cover this up, Sam?" Jack asked, hoping if nothing else, he could close the distance between them while buying some time for the others to finish pushing the beam out of the way. "Do you really think the cops won't know what happened? There are only so many lies you can tell before they call your bluff and, let me tell you, you'll need a whole lot of lies to cover this one," Jack pointed out. He was only a few feet away. Just a little bit closer and maybe, just maybe he would be close enough to do _something_.

"I have plenty of people to help me lie, don't worry about me, Jack," Rachel sneered. "Save your concerns for yourself," she added as an afterthought, this time actually meaning the words she said. But he wasn't concerned for her or himself, as a matter of fact. All he was concerned for was Rose. That was all that actually mattered at that moment. He knew it was irrational, but no one ever said falling for someone made you rational in any way, shape or form.

"So Rosie, I think it's time you said your goodbyes," Rachel announced after seconds of pure, terrifying silence. Her words caused a chill to run up and down Jack's spine. They were almost scarier than any silence Rachel could ever induce.

"No," Rose choked out tearfully as tried to break free, but failed to even make Rachel struggle to hold her in place. She was just too tired and Jack could see her giving up.

"Rose," Jack replied, feeling as desperate as she sounded. He didn't want her to give up. He didn't want to give up. And, as Jack well knew, Mercers never, ever gave up, even when it was so obvious they couldn't win. This was one rule, one law to live by, that Jack refused to break. No matter how many other rules he had broken in the past.

"I'm so s-sorry, Jack, it's my f-fault," Rose sobbed, her words broken, their edges cutting into Jack's heart, paining him in a way that was foreign to him.

"No," Jack gasped. He didn't know if he was addressing Rose, Rachel or perhaps an eavesdropping deity, but he needed the moment to stop. He needed this to not be happening.

"Yes," Rachel spat malevolently for all three possible intended listeners, knowing it was the only possible answer to Jack's request.

In response, Jack's eyes flew to Rose's face, pleading with her to do something, to have a reaction or than tears and hopelessness. She needed to be on any plan Jack had. She needed to help him and be ready, in any way possible. Rose simply nodded. It was her silent promise to cooperate and to stay strong throughout, no matter how short 'throughout' might last.

"So that's it? No proclamation of love, Rosie? Nothing moving? I'm a little disappointed," Rachel confessed, her eyes on her little sister's tortured face. As she did so, Jack glanced behind him. There was almost enough room for between the wall and the beam of wood for Jerry and the rest to pass through, but it was clear to Jack that he would have to take action before they made it, because once they did, Rose would most definitely get shot in the head. Rachel wouldn't even hesitate.

And the truth is, that was it. There was no plan in the works, no ideas sparking in Jack's head. All that he could feel was the uninvited, overzealous, premature feeling of grief and loss that was flooding his body and pulsing through his veins at speeds so fast that it nearly paralyzed him.

"Jack, b-be ready," Rose said, her voice thawing him out of his frozen state as quickly as it had appeared. But the absence of the immobility did nothing to take away the undeniable heartache he felt at Rose's impending doom. Which was odd, the voice in the back of Jack's head noted, as Rachel was right: there had been no proclamation of love. But nothing ever made sense in Jack's short life and he wasn't really expecting it to start now.

"Ready?" Jack whispered in confusion as he took a step forward and studying the situation in front of him.

"Ready," Rose urged just as Jack understood her meaning. Somehow, during all this talk, Rose had managed to shift her arm into a position where it would be useful.

"If you are, I am," Jack confirmed, thankful that this conversation didn't sound too conspicuous as Rose lifted her forearm with all the strength she had and sharply elbowed Rachel in the stomach.

The sequence of events that followed went so quickly that Jack still had trouble understanding how it had all happened.

Jack was ready, just as he said he would be, when Rose elbowed Rachel, successfully winding her. As a consequence, Rachel let go of Rose, causing her to crumble to the floor like a house of cards that had encountered a mischievous child. Once Rachel no longer had a human shield in front of her, Jack vaulted forward and attacked Rachel for the second time that night.

The fight that ensued was short and bittersweet. After punching Rachel in the nose to distract her for a few extra seconds, Jack twisted the gun she was holding out her hand. As the gun shifted between owners, two things happened simultaneously. The first was that the beam had moved just enough for Jerry and Mac to slip through. The second was the loud gunshot that echoed throughout the room.

Jack wouldn't have known who had fired if not for the fact that his finger was squeezing the trigger of the gun he had pulled from Rachel's hand only a moment before. It seemed that when he had tugged the gun away from Rachel and took hold of the handle, his finger caught on the trigger. The bullet hit Rachel in the neck, killing her instantly.

The scream that rang out in the room after that was enough to keep Jack from falling into a state of disbelief. He looked down, already knowing the scream had come from Rose, to see that Rachel had fallen on top of her sister, blood pouring out of the body, drenching Rose.

Springing to action, Jack tossed the gun towards Jerry and bent down to push Rachel's corpse off of Rose. Without thinking, Jack scooped Rose into his arms, not caring that he was getting blood, Rachel's blood, all over his ripped shirt.

"J-Jack," Rose sobbed from where she was cradled in Jack's arms. "Oh God, Jack," Rose repeated, tears pouring down her face.

"It's okay, it's over," Jack promised. He knew this time he wasn't lying. The rest of the group had pushed their way through the opening between the beam and the wall and were standing guard around them, just in case any of Rachel's men were stupid enough to come around the corner.

"I know," Rose whispered as she pressed her face into Jack's shirt, the blood and tears mingling to stain it. But he didn't care. It really was over. They could even hear the sirens of an ambulance and police cars coming from outside to prove it.

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**AN: So that's it for this part. Thanks, as always, to my fabulous beta. I love her. The next part is started and should be finished some time this week. After that, there's only one more (it's something of an epilogue, I guess). Then I go to Poland-Israel and when I get back, I'm fixing up my other Four Brothers fic. Then I'm spending the summer writing a Harry Potter fic (if anyone wanted to know... but you can find most of this on my profile, if you care to look). **

**Reviewer Replies:**

**JainaZekk621 - Thanks!**

**Umi Pryde - Thanks for the corrections as always and I'm glad you enjoyed the Bobby moment. He comes back full on in the last chapter, I promise. **

**So that's all for now. Please review, as I was originally aiming for 60 reviews by the time I finished, but if I could hit 50, at this point, I would be SO happy. **

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	15. Connected

**Disclaimer: Not mine unless it is. Chapter title is "Connected" by New Found Glory.**

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**Chapter 14:**

Jack sat in the hallway of the busy hospital, half of his attention on the officer who had been assigned the task of questioning him about the previous night's occurrences and the other half on a door Jack could only partially see due to the officer's hulking frame. As much as Jack wanted to be behind that door with Rose, he also wanted his brother out of jail, which meant focusing on answering the questions the police asked with as much detail as possible.

"So you killed her?" the officer asked. He let out a tired sigh. At least they were close to the end.

"Well, yeah," Jack mumbled as he looked down at his gauze-covered hands briefly before looking back up at the officer and the door. "Rose elbowed her and I ran forward to grab the gun. I dunno how it happened, but I guess my finger got caught on the trigger and it went off. I was just lucky it wasn't pointing at me or Rose," he shuddered as he thought of that possibility for not the first time in the last few hours.

The truth was, Jack knew that Jerry and the rest were all going through a much more intense questioning down at the police station. He knew that if it weren't for his injuries and the obvious depression he felt caused by the unconscious state of the female in the room across the hall he would be with them, receiving the same kind of treatment. He also knew this officer wanted nothing more than to beat the truth out of him, as if Jack had been lying for the past hour as he re-told the story of how he and the others had rescued Rose.

And Jack would be the first to admit, there were holes in his story and there would always be holes, even after the cops down at the precinct listened to the tape of Rachel confessing to what she did to Bobby. Even if Jack had told the whole story, starting from when Bobby had been dragged away that night, there were still things that would never make sense. For example, how did that gun accidentally go off and just happen to hit Rachel? That was dumb luck if Jack had ever seen it, just sheer dumb luck. Of course, the police thought he was lying, and that he had taken the gun and shot Rachel on purpose.

"And then what happened?" the officer asked curiously. Anything after this was unnecessary for Jack to have to tell. It was just Officer Jackass acting his part.

"Our friends managed to move the beam of wood, I picked up Rose and we went outside to find the police waiting for us," Jack finished simply. He didn't think this part needed as much detail as the rest of the story did. Not to mention he didn't really want to talk about how Rachel's very dead body had fallen on top of Rose, pinning her to the floor and soaking her in the blood of her own sister.

"Well, I guess that's all for now," the officer concluded as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. "If you remember anything that you think might be important for the case, give me a call." Jack had received many such cards in the past and he had never called. In fact, he had a whole pile of cards given to him by different police officers in a shoebox in his room. It was his collection of names of assholes that wanted nothing more than to throw the Mercer boys in jail and keep them there forever, just to have them off the streets. In fact, it would probably be seen as something of a hit list if a man like Officer Jackass ever found the cards.

"Sure," Jack replied sharply as he took the card and glanced at it before slipping into the back pocket of his jeans. The officer must have taken that as his dismissal because only seconds later he heard the heavy footsteps of the overweight man walking down the hall and out of the hospital.

Jack sighed in relief. He hated cops. They always made him anxious and they never got the story right, whether they were dirty and were paid to not get the story right or they were clean and they were just too thick headed to get the story right.

He grimaced as two doctors walked past him, neither stopping to check in on Rose as they made their rounds, coffee in hand. Jack wanted nothing more than to hurt them for not paying any attention to her.

"Stupid doctors, stupid hospital," Jack grumbled as he stood up and walked up to the door that separated him from Rose's room. He stood there, his hand on the doorknob for what seemed like forever until someone cleared her throat behind him.

"Excuse me, sweetie, but I need to get in there," the elderly nurse who seemed to be in charge of the floor said patiently as she shifted the pile of clipboard in her arm to a more comfortable position.

"Sorry," Jack mumbled sheepishly as he pushed opened the door and followed the nurse into the room.

"You know, talking to her might help," the nurse prompted as Jack stood idly by the door, his eyes glued to the floor for reasons he couldn't even fathom.

"I guess," Jack replied as he grabbed the nearest chair and pulled it over to Rose's bed, thanking God that it was light so he didn't hurt his already injured hands too badly.

"Don't be shy, sweetie, I'm sure she'll be happy to know you're sitting here with her," the nurse continued as she checked Rose's chart as well as the machines she was hooked up to.

"Do you think talking to her will help? That she'll hear me and wake up?" Jack asked curiously as his glance flickered from Rose to the nurse and back again.

"I'm not sure," the nurse replied with a shrug, "But what's the harm?"

"Yeah, I guess," Jack said softly before taking Rose's hand in his, glad that the added weight didn't cause him pain. Quite contrary, actually, Rose's small hands in his larger one made him feel significantly better than he had felt all night, no matter how much the sight of her in that too-white bed scared him.

"I'll leave you to it," the nurse said before bustling out of the room, not giving Jack a chance to reply, even if he had wanted to.

Jack didn't know how long he sat there silently with his tired eyes watching Rose's prone, bruised and cut up figure. He wished more than anything that he could fall asleep and join her in dreamland, but it seemed that the millions of thoughts that were zooming through his head at racecar speeds wouldn't allow him to do so.

"Hi," Jack mumbled to Rose, knowing she couldn't hear him but also knowing that if he didn't say what was on his mind, he would never get any sleep. "I wish you would wake up already," he began. "I wish you would wake up and tell me that you're okay and that I don't have to worry anymore because no matter how many times someone with a clipboard tells me it's only a matter of time before you wake up, I don't really believe them.

"And I can't sleep. I've been sitting here for God knows how long and I just can't sleep, no matter how tired I feel, and trust me, Rosie, I'm exhausted. I'm not blaming you for it, but I honestly think that maybe I can't sleep because I'm too worried about you. It sure as hell was hard for me to get any sleep the night you were missing. I think Jerry drugged me, but I don't really remember. The last two days were kind of a big blur. All I remember was being really angry and really scared.

"I just can't understand how I've gotten so fucking attached to you over the past week. I've never… I can't… I don't even know what I'm trying to say," Jack mumbled incoherently. He was mad at himself for not being able to find the words to explain how he felt. He was mad at himself for being too much of a coward to own up to his feelings, especially when Rose couldn't even hear him.

"I just…" Jack tried again, "I just feel like if this whole thing had gone bad and you died, I wouldn't be able to get over it so easily." Well, that was something, he thought as he continued to try and construct the sentences that would express what he meant. Just as he was considering writing down everything he was saying on the small notepad that was by the phone so that he would remember what to say to her when she was awake, Jack felt Rose's hand move in his.

"Rose?" Jack asked, hope in his voice. He wasn't sure he would be able to carry on if Rose was awake, but maybe she would say something that would make what he was saying a little more coherent.

"Hey, what did I miss?" Rose asked, her voice hoarse and filled with exhaustion.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Jack said, relief pumping through his veins, its presence in his body very clear in his tone.

"Wow," Rose replied, clearly impressed by the near-tangible emotion in Jack's voice. She would have said more if not for the cough fit that came next.

"Shit, you shouldn't have said anything," Jack swore as he jumped up, even though his body screamed in protest, and retrieved a cup of water to ease Rose's discomfort. It was only now that he realized how anxious she must have felt only days earlier when he was lying in that bed and she was the waiting around for him to wake up so she could cater to his every need.

"Thanks," Rose replied after she was propped up properly and had drained the cup, her face still a little red from coughing.

"No problem," Jack said as he took the cup from Rose and set it down by his feet, eyeing her carefully, making sure there was nothing else he could do for her.

"So she's dead, huh?" Rose asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

"Yeah," Jack whispered. She could only be talking about Rachel and as much as Jack hated to think about it, let alone talk about it now that his interrogation with the police was over, he figured he owed Rose that much.

"Well, I guess that means I didn't dream the past few days up," Rose said lightly, causing Jack to smile. He couldn't let her efforts to make things less depressing go unrewarded and if it made her feel better, then it was the least he could do.

"Unfortunately," Jack responded with a shrug. As glad as he was that Nickels was out of the picture and that Bobby was going to be freed, he didn't enjoy the fact that Rachel had been killed.

"As much as I hated her, and I did hate her, I don't think I would have ever wished that on her," Rose commented softly. More time passed, complete silence blanketing the room except for the beeping of the many machines that monitored Rose's slowly improving condition.

"Hey, what happened to your hands?" Rose asked as he eyes landed on Jack's bandaged hands, which lay uselessly on his lap. Jack bit his lower lips sheepishly and tried to hide his hands futilely. He was suddenly embarrassed of his injury, as if Rose shouldn't even bother noticing his problems when she was so clearly worse off than he was.

"I cut 'em up pretty bad when I tried to help move the beam of wood," Jack confessed, knowing that she would never let him get away with not telling her, no matter how silly he felt about it.

"Ouch," Rose responded as she reached forward and took Jack's injured hands in hers, her hands warming what little skin that was exposed. "You okay?" Rose asked as she ran a thumb over the back of one of his hands.

"I'll live, I think," Jack mumbled as he looked down at their hands. "What matters is that you're okay. Are you okay?" he pressed, wanting to confirm his assumption.

"I'm fine Jack," Rose said with a small smile on her bruised face. Her smile did him some good, but not enough to put him at ease. There was still the small matter of this emotion in him that kept him from the peace that was necessary for sleep.

"Good," Jack replied sincerely, making sure Rose knew how he felt by the expression on his face and his emotion-thick voice.

"I'm so tired, Jack. D'you reckon it's safe for me to just sleep now?" Rose slurred, her fatigue obvious as she released her hold on Jack's hands.

"I think so," Jack replied hesitantly before changing his answer. "Yeah, I think it's safe." At first he was unsure. How could he say it was safe for her to sleep when he couldn't guarantee a hidden monster wouldn't make it's presence known while she drifted off? But then it dawned on him, like a light bulb turning on his brain. The feeling in his chest suddenly made sense. He could promise her uninterrupted sleep because he was there. He knew he would do anything to keep her safe as she slept, even when she was awake. Jack was hooked, for better or for worse, no matter how unbidden the feeling was or how quickly it had arrived. And he knew the word to match this feeling but he dare not think it because he knew that the minute he did, he wouldn't be able to keep it inside him. He knew he would blurt it out for the world to hear and he didn't know if Rose was ready for it.

"Can you... um…" Rose began, stumbling over her own words as Jack had done earlier. "Would you mind…" she trailed off before biting her lower lip sheepishly. The look on her face caused him to smile. He had no idea what she was trying to say but she was adorable either way.

"Anything," Jack assured, his voice rough with emotion. He meant it. More than anything, he meant it. Even if she wanted him to leave, he would do it because she wanted it.

"Sleep with me?" Rose whispered innocently as she scooted over in her bed a bit, her eyes hopeful. Jack was reminded of a child who had been frightened by a nightmare and was asking permission to join her parents in bed, for protection from the terror induced dreams.

"Of course," Jack said immediately as he stood up awkwardly, his long limbs missing their usual grace due to the weight of his weariness.

It took a few minutes for the pair to get settled on the narrow hospital bed, but once they were, neither wanted too move very much. Rose's weak form was tightly curled up to his side, her head resting on Jack's chest, tucked under his chin. His arms were wrapped around her torso, holding her against him and shielding her from the terrible memories that were more than likely to haunt her in her sleep. In turn, one of her arms was wrapped around his waist, anchoring herself to him, just in case he let go. If she only knew how unlikely it was that such an event would occur, she would be much less worried.

Once Jack thought Rose was sleeping, he let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. The close proximity to the object of his affections was having an effect on him that was unfamiliar. Of course, he knew what it was like to be attracted to a woman, to be with a woman in all senses of the word, but this was different. This wasn't a chase, nor was the feeling induced by a drug or alcohol. For once, what he was feeling, was real. It was just him, just Jack, no added substances or influences.

And she was just Rose. She wasn't some girl who wanted to get into his pants because he was a lead singer in a band or because he was that mysterious guy who sits in the corner of the bar that has undeniable, unwanted sex appeal. For whatever reason, she had spent time with him when he was in his most serious of moods, a time when most people gave him a wide berth, even his family. She listened to him. She seemed to care about him, even if it was only friendship. But even if friendship was all she could offer, he could live with that. He felt lucky just to have her care about him at all and as long as she would let him follow her around like a lost puppy, he would do it, no matter what state he had to travel to.

"I love you, Rosie," Jack finally said, his voice softer than it had been all night, but more chalk-full of meaning and purpose than it had ever been. "And I'm chicken because I can't say it to your face, but at least I'm a chicken who's found somebody to love, even if you don't love me back, which I don't expect you too."

"You ramble when you're nervous, you know?" Rose muttered very softly after a few moments. In fact, it was so quiet that Jack thought he had dreamt her saying it. He only realized that he was very much awake when Rose shifted her position so she could turn her face up to look at him.

"What?" Jack asked in confusion, his eyes wide as he realized Rose had heard everything he had just confessed. He could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks, the embarrassment and shame present. He wasn't going to tell her and if he was, it wasn't supposed to happen then, like that.

"Jack," Rose breathed, her greens eyes struggling to stay open, for Jack and Jack alone, "I love you too, Jack, I was just waiting for you to realize that you loved me too before I said anything," she confessed.

"What?" Jack repeated, feeling like a broken record as he did so. He wished he had something more intelligent to say, but he was too stunned to even think about anything other than the words she was saying.

"I think it's called love at first sight," Rose replied, explaining slowly for Jack's sake. "It took me until your date with Rachel to start realizing it, but I was sure that's what it was when I found you beaten to a pulp on the street that night. I was pretty sure you felt it too, but I decided it would be best if you figured it out for yourself and you did."

"Yeah, I did," Jack replied in amazement. He had been so scared for nothing. She was way ahead of him. But of course she was way ahead of him. Hadn't Evelyn told him about a woman's intuition? Hadn't she told him that a woman always knew long before a man? Jack was just lucky that the woman he had fallen for was willing to live with his built-in male stupidity.

"Took you long enough," Rose grumbled, her eyes shutting, momentarily giving into the desire for sleep before opening again. "I thought I was going to have to leave Detroit before you figured it out."

"I'm sorry," Jack said sincerely. "Let me make it up to you?" he asked hopefully.

"How do you propose to do that?" Rose asked curiously, one eyebrow rising on her forehead in skepticism.

Jack didn't bother to respond verbally. Instead, he turned his head downward and pressed his lips to hers. Their kiss wasn't needy or demanding, nor was it passionate or aggressive. It was tender and patient, both of them somehow aware that they had time to savor the moment as opposed to rushing it and ruining it.

"That's a good place to start," Rose said once Jack ended this kiss.

"I figured," Jack said before kissing her again, this one no different from the last. This time when he ended the kiss, Jack shifted Rose in his arms so she was once more tucked against him, just as she had been only minutes before.

"Goodnight Jack," Rose whispered softly.

"Goodnight Rose," Jack replied as his eyes fluttered shut. There were to be no more past-bedtime confessions for either of them as just seconds later they were both fast asleep, their abused bodies finally healed and content enough for a proper rest.

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**AN: Okay, so this is the last chapter. Epilogue is coming shortly.**

**Reviewer Responses:**

**Ghostwriter and JainaZekk621 - thanks you guys! **

**So yeah, please review. I really would like 50 by the time this is all over. **

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


	16. Only Good

**A/N: This chapter is not beta-ed. My beta missed our "meeting" tonight, but I need to post this before I go off to Poland this weekend, so here it is. I can always reload it later, I suppose. But either way, this story on a whole, especially this chapter because we love fluff, goes to her for being awesome and helping me with this story (not to mention her general awesomeness and how much I love her). **

**Disclaimer: Not mine unless it is.  
**

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**Epilogue:**

"Thanks for helping me with this," Jack said as he turned the hotdogs on the grill. It had been almost three months since everything had happened and all the wounds were healed. Well, all except the one Bobby carried from being thrown, quite unjustly, as he would rant to anyone who asked, or even if they didn't ask, into jail.

"What else would I do with my spare time?" Rose asked with a smile on her round face. Jack turned his head to look at her, his back bent over the grill with his hair falling in his face. He smiled back at the sight of her profile. They had spent almost all their free time together since Rose's stay in the hospital, but the sight of her face still made his heart jump in excitement.

"I dunno, get a life?" Jack teased. Rose poked him in the side in response.

"I like the life I have, thank you very much. In fact, I love it. I wouldn't trade it in for the world," she informed honestly. Jack's smile widened as he wrapped his free arm around Rose and kissed her.

"Get a fucking room would you?" Bobby's gruff voice growled in annoyance as he exited the house and stepped onto the freshly cut spring grass that covered the backyard. From the minute he walked back into the house, he was the same old Bobby. He was still fussing and arguing as if he hadn't left for more than a drive around town. Well, there was the addition of the ridiculously embellished tale he told about his latest stay in prison, but Jack had grown up with those, so it didn't really faze him.

"Why should we?" Jack replied as he pulled away from Rose so he could address his recently absolved relation. He was, in fact, the reason for the barbeque. This was his welcome home party.

"Because you make me want to throw up, that's why," Bobby said as he fell back into a plastic lawn chair and propped his legs up on the plastic table in front of him.

"And the world revolves around you, right?" Jack asked, causing Rose to giggle.

"It does today. This is my party, isn't it?" Bobby grumbled, stating the obvious.

"Oh come on Bobby, can't you just be happy that your brother found himself a nice girlfriend?" Rose asked as Jack nudged a finished hotdog onto a plate that was already piled high with food. She had taken a liking to Bobby. She had told Jack that Bobby reminded her of her stepbrother, even though he was a bit angrier than her stepbrother, Dan, had ever been.

"No," Bobby retorted as Rose placed a hotdog bun on the plate and pulled away from Jack so she could deliver the food to the eldest Mercer.

"Here Bobby, a nice home cooked meal for the newly freed man," Rose said as she handed the disgruntled brother his plate.

"Thanks," he replied, his tone a bit less bitter due to the addition of the food that was sure to be good, with Jack as the cook. "Prison food is crap."

"So try to stay out of there, would you?" Rose requested, scolding Bobby ever so slightly before kissing him on the cheek and skipping back over to Jack.

"Anything for you, Rosie," Bobby replied cheekily. It seemed to Jack that Bobby had taken to his girlfriend the way that she had taken to him. Bobby hadn't told Jack anything, but he could see in the way that they interacted. Bobby let Rose hug, kiss and reprimand him, as if she was his sister or even his caretaker. He never let anyone do that other than Evelyn, their now-deceased mother.

"That's what you used to tell Ma," Jack retorted as Rose slipped her arms around his waist and set her head on his back, her waist leaning against his hips due to the height difference between them.

"Well she ain't Ma, is she?" Bobby asked. He might have meant it rhetorically, but that's not how it was taken.

"No, I'm not," Rose said with a tired sigh as she buried her face into the indent between Jack's shoulder blades. "But I do wish you two would stop arguing all the time and I wish you two could stop getting into so much trouble."

"Amen sister," Jerry exclaimed as he, Camille, Daniela, Amelia and William came through the house with dessert in hand catching the end of Rose's last statement.

"Hi Jerry," Rose said as she pulled away from Jack and went over to take the cake mold Camille was holding in one hand while balancing William on her hip with the other. "Hi Camille," she continued, greeting the family with as much cheer in her voice as she could muster.

"Aw, Rosie, don't be sad because Jackie and me are a pair of misfits," Bobby said in a joking tone even though Jack could hear the underlying concern. They all could.

"Speak for yourself, I'm a reformed man," Jack protested as he put the rest of the hotdogs on a serving plate and set it on the table next to Bobby's boot-clad feet before pulling Rose back into his arms and kissing the top of her head, smiling all the while.

"Are you now?" Jerry asked conspiratorially as he shot his older brother a glance. "I could have sworn I saw you with a cigarette two weeks ago."

"Jerry!" Camille reprimanded as she hit him with her now free hand.

"Thanks for that, Jerry, but I already knew. Jack came clean with the half-smoked cigarette in hand," Rose replied with a smile breaking through her exasperation. "So I guess maybe he is a reformed man. Damn, I'm good. One down, one to go," she hummed happily, her bad mood long gone as she walked over to the table, leaving Jack's embrace yet again so she could set down the cake Camille had made.

"Thanks for trying to screw me over though," Jack growled as Jerry followed Rose over to the table and set the tin container of cookies he was holding down on the table with the rest of the food Rose and Jack had spent the afternoon making while Bobby watched hockey and dozed on the couch. "That's much appreciated Jer."

"He was just making sure you were being good to me," Rose pacified easily as she bounded across the very short distance to Jack and wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing him sweetly on the lips.

"Ew," Daniela and Amelia chimed in, as if on queue.

"I already told the two of you to go get a room," Bobby agreed with the two girls, causing them to giggle.

"Bobby Mercer, get your feet off the table and start acting your age instead of your shoe size," Camille scolded as she walked over to him and knocked his ankles, swatting them off the table successfully.

"What kind of sayin' is that?" Bobby groaned. He stretched his feet out under the table, annoyed with having to relocate.

"A good one," Rose informed smartly.

"A good what?" Mac asked as she came around the house. "And I'm in the right place, yeah?" she questioned as she looked around the now-crowded, well-decorated backyard.

"Hey Kenz!" Rose exclaimed as she waved enthusiastically at her best friend, very unwilling to leave Jack's arms again as was obvious to all persons present.

"Hey girl, what's up?" Mac said casually as she walked over to the couple, kissed Rose on the cheek in greeting and put the big brown bag she was holding under the table.

"What the hell's in that bag?" Bobby asked as he kicked it curiously as if doing so would give him the answer he was seeking.

"Mac, this is Bobby Mercer, Jack and Jerry's older brother," Rose introduced with a sigh as she leaned further into Jack's embrace. "Bobby, this is Mackenzie Walsh, one of my best friends."

"What's in the bag?" Bobby pressed, ignoring the introduction even though Jack could tell he had registered the girl's name and would be able to repeat it if asked.

"Brownies," Mac replied, "And a game."

"Which game?" Bobby asked with an unreadable look on his face, as if the answer meant the world.

"It's a game me and Rosie used to play that I dug up the other day called Fluxx. It's a card game," Mac explained. "It's a lot of fun and I knew Rose would love to play it again, so when I saw it in the store the other day, I had to pick it up."

"Fluxx? Are you serious?" Rose asked in disbelief. "I haven't played that game since our trip to Italy that summer in high school."

"Me neither, which is why I thought you would enjoy this," Mac said with a shrug.

"How do you play?" Jerry asked curiously as he and Camille sat down in a set of empty chairs across from Bobby. By this point Daniela and Amelia were already running around the backyard, chasing each other and shrieking when one caught up with the other.

"Um, there are no rules at the beginning, but as you put down rule cards, you build how you play the game," Mac said after a moment's thought.

"What the hell kind of game is that?" Bobby asked as his eyebrows rose in disbelief.

"You'll get it when you play, Bobby, no need to get pissy," Rose scolded playfully as she stepped away from Jack, much to her chagrin, and walked over to the bag that was under the table so she could retrieve the cards.

"Y'know, Bobby, if you don't think you can handle it, I can always get the regular cards and we can play bull shit or something," Jack offered with a smug smile on his face.

"Shut it, Fairy," Bobby grumbled, his sour disposition back in place as Jack's smile faded and a steely look entered his eyes. He really did hate the names his brothers called him.

"Are you seriously trying to call Jack homosexual?" Mac asked in disbelief as she sat down next to Bobby. "He's the one with the girlfriend, not you. If anything, you're the fairy. Which is likely due to the amount of male-on-male activity in prisons."

"Oh shit," Jerry swore as he and Camille broke out into laughter and smiles graced Mac, Rose and Jack's faces. Bobby on the other hand looked even angrier than before.

"I don't need to be told what I am by a little pixie like you," Bobby growled.

"What, fairies, pixies, do you have nothing else to call people aside from small mythical creatures? Didn't they teach you better insults in prison?" Mac continued, her teasing merciless. Jack had told Rose about how Bobby used to tease him, to prepare her for it, and she must have told Mac because it seemed like the girl was ready for everything and anything Bobby could dish out.

"Yeah, they did, but none of them are appropriate for the ears of children," Bobby replied pompously as he tried to contain his anger, knowing it would be his undoing if he got too riled up.

"So now you care about cursing in front of my kids, I see how it is," Jerry shot, calling Bobby out on his bluff.

"All of ya should just go fuck yourselves," Bobby mumbled in annoyance as he crossed his arms over his chest, not enjoying the way everyone was ganging up on him, even though he knew they were right.

"There's the Bobby we all know and love," Camille said drolly, the smile still on her face. Camille had never liked Bobby so she loved the abuse he was receiving.

"Okay, enough, I want to learn how to play this card game," Jack said as he sat down on the remaining lawn chair and pulling Rose down on top of him, officially ending the verbal sparring.

An hour later, everyone was laughing, eating, bantering playfully and throwing cards down on the table, all anger forgotten.

"Shut up, I hate you!" Mac exclaimed as Bobby threw down a rule card that ruined Mac's chances of winning in her next turn.

"I don't like to lose," Bobby replied with a shrug causing Jerry to exclaim and begin telling a tale of what happened the last time the eldest Mercer had lost a game.

"This is fun," Rose whispered to Jack as she turned to face the man she was sitting on, ignoring Jerry's story just as her companion was.

"I wish it could stay like this forever," Jack mumbled wistfully. He really wished it could but he knew there was bound to be something on the horizon that would most likely change things for the worse. Maybe Rose would leave, or Bobby would get into trouble, or Jerry and Camille would go back to England to stay instead of moving back to Detroit like they had planned. He didn't know, but he knew it was coming.

"Maybe it can, don't be so pessimistic," Rose berated lightly.

"We're Mercers, it never stays like this," Jack replied with a knowing look on his face that he knew Rose couldn't counter.

"Yeah? Well, I'm a Gilman, and a Gilman never leave unless forcibly removed," Rose stated, taking a different road then Jack thought she would. "I'm not going anywhere Jack. I can't speak for Bobby, Jerry, Camille, or even for Mac, but I know I'll be here because I want to be here. I want to be with you, for as long as you'll have me, because I'm happy for the first time in a long time. And as long as I'm here, I'll help you get through anything you need to get through, no matter how much something may suck," she finished. It wasn't eloquent by any means, but it was exactly what Jack needed to hear.

"I'll always want you," Jack whispered, not trusting his voice to remain steady if he spoke any louder. Three months might not seem like a lot of time to most people, but to the happy couple, everyday was nothing short of a blessing, considering they almost had no time together at all.

"I was hoping you would say that," Rose replied, pecking Jack on the lips quickly before Bobby could protest, as he had a tendency to do.

"I saw that," Bobby glowered. Jack and Rose laughed in response, her head buried in his shoulder as she tried to contain her amusement. They were just thankful Camille had put William, Amelia and Daniela down for their naps about an hour earlier so they wouldn't have to witness the event as well.

"Why are you so against the slightest bit of pubic displays of affection? What if it was you?" Mac asked, an unreadable look on her face.

"It wouldn't be," Bobby replied easily, his eyes meeting Mac's, as if challenging her.

She took the bait. "Oh really?" Mac asked deviously as she set her cards aside, stood up and, before Bobby could do or say anything, Mac's lips were on his.

"Holy shit," Rose gasped in shock, eyes wide was she looked up in time to see her best friend kiss her boyfriend's brother.

"Damn girl," Jerry whistled, impressed by Mac's gall, just as a speechless Jack and an amused Camille were.

"I've been wanting to do that since I got here," Mac informed after she had pulled away and went back to her seat. "So, badass, what do you think of public displays of affection now?" she asked, turning her attention back to Bobby, who was sitting in his seat, stunned into a daze.

"I-I… um," Bobby mumbled incoherently causing Jerry to throw his head back and laugh at his brother. "Shut up Jerry," he complained, returning to planet Earth due to the jarring sound of his brother's joy. "I… well… fuck it." With that, Bobby got out of his chair for the first time since he had sat down so he could reattach his lips to Mac's.

This time, there were catcalls to greet the event.

"See?" Rose asked once everyone had quieted down. Bobby and Mac were off to the side, talking about what had just happened, an event that surprised Jack, as his eldest brother was never one to kiss a girl and then talk to her about it. Camille and Jerry were inside getting the kids up so they could go home, leaving Jack and Rose, who was still perched on his lap, to talk amongst themselves.

"See what?" Jack asked lazily as he pulled Rose closer so she was leaning heavily against him. He hardly felt her weight on him, as he had grown so accustomed to it. It was almost as if she was part of him.

"No more bad things, only good," Rose replied simply, her face pressed against Jack's neck as she curled up against him, kissing him lightly and sending a chill down his spine. It was a good chill, one he was thankful he could feel, one that made him thankful that he had found someone to make him feel it.

"Mmm, only good," Jack replied, liking the way that sounded and, for once, believing that it could possibly be true.

* * *

**A/N: Well, this is the end. Good thing too. No one was really reading this and the lack of response was greatly enhancing my very serious case of the blues. It's not fun when you work hard on something and no one expresses their gratitude. That and I crave attention. The human condition, or whatever. **

**Anyway, enough of me. I'm mopey and depressed. **

**Last Reviewer Replies for this story:**

**Ghostwriter and JainaZekk621 - thanks for reading you guys, you rock, honestly. Never let anyone tell you otherwise!! Thanks for trying to help me get to 50 reviews! **

**Right, so everyone wave goodbye to Jack and Rose, they're riding off into the horizon, oh so happy together, just as I assume Bobby and Mac will be, given time. Not to mention Jerry and Camille. Isn't that nice how everyone paired off? I'm a little sorry I didn't have more Wes and Collin, but I'll be sure to recycle them eventually. Or at least their names. I like those names.**

**If anyone has a question about a loose end, you can leave a review and I'll get back to you within the next two weeks. Review if you want, but I guess it doesn't matter anymore (sorry, that's my depression again...). Oh and, if you guys like Harry Potter (I'm talking the Marauders, the only era worth loving), that's where my next story effort's going to. But I'm not starting it when I get home. I'm fixing up my other Four Brother's story first. Watch my profile if you care to, I put updates there. **

**Love and Luck,**

**Gaby**


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